


Bionicle: Heroes of the Past

by AchsaP



Category: Bionicle - All Media Types
Genre: Epic, Epic Battles, Fate & Destiny, Gen, Human, Legends, Retelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-06-26 17:17:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 70,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19772839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AchsaP/pseuds/AchsaP
Summary: As the inhabitants of Mata Nui make their way across the ocean, the wise Turaga recount the tales of a great city called Metru Nui, and the unexpected transformation of six matoran into its new defenders. Alone and inexperienced, the Toa Metru fight to save the city they love, and discover the presence of a powerful enemy hidden in plain sight.





	1. Prologue

All of Mata Nui was on a journey, Toa, Turaga, and Matoran alike. After the magnificent events they had witnessed in the past few months, they were now making their way to a new world on a wide stone pathway that had risen out of the sea. At one point the pathway widened, and the landscape changed to a forest with rocky ground and strange rock formations.

Takanuva’s mind was still flooded with thoughts of his first battle as a Toa. He had faced the Master of Darkness himself, Makuta, and somehow came out triumphant, side by side with the six great guardians, the Toa Nuva. He looked down at his new form, still mesmerized by the fact that not a few days ago, he was just a matoran: Takua the Chronicler.

He walked alongside Jaller, his best friend. Jaller was holding hands with Hahli, a Ga-Matoran and the brand-new Chronicler, to whom he had given his blessing for being the new recorder of history.

“Where are we going, exactly?” Jaller spoke up.

“I don’t know,” Takanuva admitted, “It seems like Turaga Vakama knows, though.”

“Yeah?”

Takanuva nodded, still not used to having to look down to talk to his best friend. “Back at the beach, he said it was ‘only our first stop.’”

Jaller grunted, looking troubled. Hahli squeezed his hand.

“It’ll be okay,” Hahli said to Jaller, “I’m sure whatever the Turaga know, they’ll tell us when the time is right.”

Takanuva nodded in silent agreement. But his mind flashed back to the time when he saw Tahu Nuva storm out of the Turaga’s hut in the now-demolished Ta-Koro. The Toa of Fire had complained that Vakama wasn’t telling him anything, or something like that. Takanuva’s memories were all a blur. From Matoran to Toa, everything happened so fast that it all ran together in his mind.

It wasn’t long before everyone was called to stop for the day and rest by the Turaga. Everyone settled in groups, lighting small campfires and mingling with friends. Just as Takanuva was about to sit down with Hahli and Jaller, Turaga Vakama approached them.

“Forgive my intrusion,” the elder said kindly, “But I need to see Takanuva and Hahli the Chronicler.”

“What about Jaller?” Takanuva asked almost too suddenly. Vakama smiled.

“I’m sorry, but this requires only the Toa and the Chronicler. All others will have to wait.”

“What’s going on, Turaga?” Hahli asked, still gripping Jaller’s hand.

“You’ll soon see. Come with me, please,” Turaga Vakama said, already turning to walk away.

Hahli met Jaller’s eyes. He smiled at her.

“Go on, don’t worry about me,” he reassured her, placing his other hand on top of hers. Jaller glanced at Takanuva, giving him a friendly grin.

“Go ahead,” he said again, “Sounds important.”

Takanuva smiled back and he and Hahli went after the elder.

* * *

Before he knew it, Takanuva was surrounded by the other Toa: Gali, Tahu, Kopaka, Pohatu, Onua, and Lewa. They all sat in a semi-circle in front of Turaga Vakama, whose normally warm demeanor seemed distant and clouded with worry. The five other Turaga—Nokama, Matau, Onewa, Whenua, and Nuju with his matoran translator Matoro—sat behind him, all looking equally uneasy. Hahli sat next to Takanuva, her notebook in hand. Takanuva smiled to himself at her enthusiasm for her new job, but the mood passed as he wondered why everyone looked so gloomy.

“Gathered friends,” the elder addressed the group, “I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve called you all here.”

“We are,” Tahu spoke up.

“Is there something bad-wrong, Turaga?” Lewa piped up as well.

Vakama motioned for them to hold their questions for the time being. “Since your victory over the Borok-Kal, I’ve met with the other Turaga to discuss something of great importance. We wanted to ensure all of you were ready to learn the truths and secrets we’ve kept from you.”

No one said anything at first. Surprisingly, it was Kopaka’s cold voice that broke the silence.

“What truths and secrets?”

Vakama gave a deep sigh, then spoke. “First and foremost, I must tell you that you seven were not the first Toa to exist.”

No one made a sound, but Takanuva could hear everyone shift in their seats. Glancing at the Toa Nuva, he saw every one of them wore a shocked expression that mirrored his own. Even Kopaka’s stony expression was broken by a furrowed brow and widened blue eyes.

“It’s true, many have fought for the matoran long before your arrival on Mata Nui. The world is much bigger than all of you realize. And I’ve—I mean—we’ve,” Vakama gestured to the other five Turaga, “decided that you must know more about it in order to face the challenges that lie ahead.”

None of the Toa said a word. The only sound Takanuva could hear was Hahli scratching away at her notebook, taking furious notes.

“So now it is time for you to hear the tales of the Toa Metru,” Vakama said with fervor. He brought his firestaff down on the ground.

“Over one thousand years ago,” Vakama began, “There was a glorious city. It housed countless matoran, all hard workers and upholders of the three virtues: Unity, Duty, and Destiny. This city was known as Metru Nui, and it is where everything began…”


	2. Six Strangers

Ga-Metru was the district dedicating to learning. Gleaming buildings rose from platforms built over the gleaming sea of protodermis. At its heart was the site of the Great Temple, the most sacred place for the Matoran of Metru Nui. And it was here where Nokama was giving a tour for all her students.

“As you can see, from the runes right here,” she was saying, pointing her staff at the glyphs on the ancient wall, when she suddenly stopped lecturing. Behind her group of students stood the Fire Toa Lhikan, the solo guardian of Metru Nui. The Ga-Matoran students all turned to follow Nokama’s gaze, and gasped in unison at the sight of their protector.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Lhikan said, smiling pleasantly.

“It’s no trouble, Toa,” Nokama reassured him, all while noticing that there was a sense of urgency in his voice that he was trying to hide. Toa Lhikan walked up to her, holding a package slightly larger than his fist. He held it out to her, and she took it reluctantly.

“Guide the others with your wisdom,” he stated, and left the Temple, disappearing into the streets outside.

Nokama was speechless, but not about to end the lesson just yet. She stowed the package in her bag, and continued the tour for her class as if nothing had happened.

Later, in her hut, Nokama unwrapped the package. Inside was a large blue stone. It glowed and was warm to the touch. The wrapping also had scrawlings on it which she quickly realized was a map of the Great Temple, with a meeting time on it.

What could this mean? Who am I meeting and why? She asked herself.

* * *

Po-Metru was the district dedicated to building. Po-Matoran worked tirelessly constructing new structures for the city, crafting stone artifacts, as well as putting the finishing touches on the tools sent there from Ta-Metru. It was here where Onewa was hard at work, chiseling away at a small totem. He was so absorbed that he didn’t hear Toa Lhikan approach.

“Builder,” the guardian said. Onewa’s head snapped up, and in seeing the Toa he placed his tools onto his workbench and stood up from his chair.

“Toa Lhikan?” was all he could say. The Toa of Fire placed a package in his hands.

“I’m counting on your courage,” Lhikan said. He walked away without another word. Onewa wasted no time opening the package, which held a large brown stone. In seeing the map to the Great Temple, he knew it must be important.

I’ll have to finish this totem later, then, he thought, glancing back at the tools on his workbench.

* * * 

Onu-Metru held the Archives, the greatest collection of history the world may ever know. Artifacts and rahi-beasts alike were stored here for research. Whenua in particular enjoyed rooting through all the new items and putting them in the records. He was busy cataloguing when someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

“What is it now, Onepu?” Whenua sighed, “I told you, I’m nearly done with this shipment—“

When he turned around Whenua realized it was Toa Lhikan. The Toa of Fire smiled down on him kindly. He gave Whenua something wrapped up in paper, then using his hoverboard he flew off.

“Don’t archive it!” Lhikan called over his shoulder, and vanished from sight.

Whenua stared after him, confused. He tore away a bit of the wrapping, revealing a stone with a warm black surface.

* * *

Le-Metru was the transport center of Metru-Nui. It was here that the city’s complicated chute system originated, helping to carry cargo and matoran all over the city. It was also the home of the test track, where matoran like Matau tested new vehicles to ensure they were safe and effective enough to manufacture for matoran use.

Matau mounted a two-wheeled vehicle, thrill coursing through him. He found the button that started the engine, and gripped the handlebars as the vehicle roared to life. He pressed a pedal, and it launched forward. With the wind screaming in his face, Matau let out a whoop of delight. He began angling the handlebars to make a turn, only for them to break off completely. Fear shot through him as the vehicle pitched to one side, throwing him off. As he tumbled and rolled, Matau heard the vehicle collide with the wall and shatter. He slid another few feet and finally came to a stop, lying on his side.

Groaning, Matau assessed the damage. Aside from some scrapes and bruises, he was fine. But he huffed in frustration when he noticed the crumpled heap of metal yards away from him. Suddenly a hand came into view. Matau looked up and saw it belonged to none other than Toa Lhikan.

Before he could say anything, Matau was helped to his feet by the Toa of Fire, who then gave him some kind of package wrapped up in paper.

“Don’t break it,” Lhikan chuckled, and was gone in the next instant.

Matau stared at the package. Peeling back the paper, he saw it contained a green stone.

What’s going on here? He wondered.

* * *

Ko-Metru was known for its towering icy structures. In these structures, called Knowledge Towers, Ko-Matoran spent all their days researching, looking up at the stars, and making predictions for the future. All the contemplation made Ko-Matoran seem cold and distant to matoran from other districts. But they loved their work. And no one could have loved it more than Nuju.

Nuju stared at the sky through his telescope, mapping out the stars on his chart. They seemed to have been changing much more frequently lately. But he wasn’t one to jump to conclusions. He angled the telescope slightly, only to catch a glimpse of a golden blur zooming past his line of vision. Nuju pulled away from the lens, startled.

Toa Lhikan appeared outside his window, aloft thanks to his hoverboard.

“Toa Lhikan? What brings you here?” Nuju asked, adjusting his glasses. Lhikan placed something in his hands.

“Follow the map, thinker,” was all the Toa of Fire said before flying away.

Nuju examined every inch of the object, then unwrapped it to examine its contents. A map to The Great Temple, and a large white stone. When he touched its surface, it gave off a curious glow.

* * *

Last but not least was Ta-Metru, the district seen as the least hospitable in the city. It housed hundreds of forges, where matoran worked tirelessly with molten protodermis to make tools and disks used for sports and defense. Sometimes they even shaped the strange substance into powerful totems to be used by Toa or even Turaga if needed.

Vakama had actually been asked to forge something for Turaga Dume, the elder of Metru Nui. According to his knowledge, this object had to be made out of powerful Kanoka Disks in order to work. Vakama picked a disk from his pile, and with his tool, began to melt and shape it. Just as he was getting the last detail right, his tool slipped and the totem split in half.

With a grunt of frustration, Vakama dropped his tool and tossed his project into the reject pile. He sighed, leaning against his work table. Footsteps behind him made Vakama jump slightly. He turned to see Toa Lhikan entering his forge, ducking his head through the doorway. The Toa was only able to stand full height once inside the forge.

“Making something, Vakama?”

“Um, well, kinda…” Vakama said, wringing his hands, “It’s a bit of an off-day for me.”

“Not anymore, I’m afraid,” Lhikan said, holding a parcel out to Vakama, “The city needs your help.”

“My help?” Vakama exclaimed. Lhikan nodded grimly.

“Matoran have been vanishing. And I’m sure you’ve heard of the little infestation in Ta-Metru,” Lhikan said. He was still holding the wrapped object out to Vakama, who took it hesitantly.

“The morbuzakh vines, yes,” Vakama said. He recalled that five forges had closed down last week due to the twisted plant damaging the structures and nearly bringing them down. “But what does that have to do with me?”

Lhikan opened his mouth to answer, but stopped short when a metallic scraping echoed through the forge. His Toa instincts kicking in, Lhikan jumped in front of Vakama as if to protect him from something. The Toa of Fire withdrew his hoverboard, and split it in its two halves, forming twin swords.

Vakama glanced around, wondering what Lhikan was so tense about. Suddenly a dark figure landed in front of the two. It stood on four legs, and sported two large pincers.

“This time, your farewell will be forever,” the being hissed, “brother,” staring hard at Lhikan with blazing green eyes.

“You lost the right to call me ‘brother’ long ago!” Lhikan snapped, drawing his twin swords. Whoever the four-legged one was laughed and stepped forward. Light hit his face, and Vakama recoiled in horror. He looked like what may have been a Toa once, but twisted and almost insect-like.

“I’ll call you what I please,” the four-legged one said, “Now come quietly and I won’t make a mess of this place.”

Lhikan responded by swinging one of his swords down on the creature, who blocked it with one of his pincer claws. Vakama watched as the two struggled, backing away slowly while still clutching the wrapped object the Toa of Fire had given him. His back hit his work table. Vakama stowed the object underneath a pile of Kanoka disks, and ducked under the table for cover.

“I should have killed you when I had the chance, Nidhiki!” Lhikan snarled at the four-legged one, with a ferocity Vakama had never heard from the Toa before.

Nidhiki leapt backwards, dodging another blow from Lhikan’s swords. He laughed, snapping his pincers. “Too bad you were never one for taking chances!”

After dodging another swing, Nidhiki retreated into the shadows in the corner of the forge. Lhikan pursued him, but was blocked by the sudden appearance of a large, hulking brute who had one eye missing. Vakama shivered under his table, marveling at Lhikan’s new opponent, who seemed to be made completely of muscle.

“It’s the end of the line, Toa!” the brute said, grinning. He raised a massive fist, and brought it down only a moment after Lhikan had already dodged it. He whirled every which way, trying to locate the Toa. Vakama could see Lhikan had leapt and perched onto one of the many pipes that ran above the forge. Before the brute could react, Lhikan dropped onto him, managing to slice through the large guy’s shoulder armor.

Vakama was so absorbed in watching the fight that he barely had time to scream when something gripped his ankle and yanked him out from under his work table. Soon his face was inches from Nidhiki’s, who was holding him upside down like a sack of broken Kanoka disks.

“What do we have here?” Nidhiki hissed. Fear and revulsion coursed through Vakama as the four-legged monster’s face split into a maniacal grin. Nidhiki strode towards the furnace in the center of the forge, and proceeded to dangle Vakama over its sweltering depths.

“L-Lhikan!” Vakama yelped, sweat beading on his forehead. Pain shot up his leg when Nidhiki clenched his pincer harder around his ankle.

Through blurred vision, due to the heat and the pain, Vakama could barely make out the form of the Toa of Fire, brandishing his swords.

“Put down your weapons, or I let the little one go,” Nidhiki snarled. He slackened his grip slightly, letting Vakama slip for one terrifying second, then tightened his grip again. Lhikan’s yellow eyes filled with defiance as he placed his swords back together and gently laid them down onto the ground in front of him. As he began to rise again, the hulking brute grabbed both Lhikan’s wrists and crossed them behind Lhikan’s back, shackling them with a string of red energy.

“Compassion,” Nidhiki hissed, “was always your weakness, brother.” Vakama’s heart flew up into his throat as the four-legged monster let his ankle go, and the heat from the furnace rose to greet him.

But he hit something hard, and was zooming through the air in the next instant. He clung to its sides, and opening his eyes Vakama saw it was Lhikan’s hoverboard. As he flew, Vakama felt his consciousness beginning to slip away…

_He was standing in a white void. A voice filled his mind._

_“Save the heart of Metru Nui,” it said._

_Vakama jumped as the face of Toa Lhikan formed in front of him, with pleading yellow eyes. The face began floating away from him, but Vakama gave chase._

_“The Great Spirit is depending on you,” Lhikan said, voice sounding further away._

_“Wait! Come back!” Vakama shouted, nearly tripping over his own feet. Lhikan’s face was shrinking away faster than he could catch up with it._

_“Hurry, Vakama,” Lhikan’s faint whisper barely reached Vakama’s ears, And his face vanished into the white, featureless distance._

When he awoke, Vakama was lying on his back somewhere in the outskirts of Ta-Metru. Lhikan’s hoverboard lay next to him. The events from minutes before flooded into his mind as the strange vision he had cleared up. Standing up, Vakama could see through the pipes, rubble, and the morbuzakh vines that infested the area, that on the street far below Toa Lhikan was being led away by Nidhiki and the brute that was with him. Overwhelming guilt washed over him.

“It’s all my fault,” he whispered, nearly choking on the words.

In low spirits, Vakama realized he had no choice but to return to his forge. There wasn’t anything he could do for the lone guardian of Metru Nui. Once back at his workstation, Vakama took out the wrapped package Lhikan had given him. Inside was a red stone, and the wrapping made up a map of the Great Temple in Ga-Metru. Vakama stared at it for a long time, thousands of questions running through his mind.

“How is the project coming, Vakama?” the voice of Turaga Dume made Vakama jump. He once again shoved the mysterious stone under the clutter on his work table and whirled to face the elder of Metru Nui, flanked by two Vahki, robotic enforcers designed to keep order in the city.

“Ah, yes, the p-project,” Vakama stumbled forward, giving the Turaga a bow, “I’m sorry Turaga, it’s not yet ready.”

“Perhaps you’re using the wrong disks?” Dume said.

“I use the best quality disks I can get, Turaga. If I had a Great Kanoka disk, it may work…” while Vakama spoke, he noticed the elder was looking at the items on his table. Dume came dangerously close to uncovering the stone Lhikan gave Vakama, but instead the elder grabbed a random Kanoka disk and examined it casually.

“Yes, yes, the disks only retrievable by Toa,” Dume commented, “as the legend goes.” The elder smiled, tossing the disk to Vakama, who just barely caught it.

“Make sure to bring what I asked for to the Coliseum as soon as it’s finished,” Turaga Dume said, walking past Vakama. He strode out the door, with his Vahki guards close behind. Those robots always made Vakama shutter, and he felt slight relief wash over him as soon as the door to his forge closed behind them.

Vakama fished the stone and the map from under the clutter of his table one last time.

“Whatever you mean by this,” he said to himself, “I’ll do what you ask, Toa Lhikan.”

* * * 

Vakama made his way to the Great Temple in Ga-Metru, gripping the red stone hard as if it keep it from running away. Trying not to feel self-conscious about the random Ga-Matoran shooting curious looks at him, he approached the main gate of the Temple, and pushed it open.

Once inside, he unfolded the map, and began following what he hoped was the right passage. He passed walls covered in carvings, some so ancient the language was unreadable. Vakama descended a flight of stairs, and found himself in a large chamber, with a suva in the center. The red stone seemed to warm slightly when he approached it. Vakama took a step back, only to run into something.

Whirling, he came face to face with an equally-startled Le-Matoran with wavy reddish-brown hair and green eyes. He was holding a stone similar to Vakama’s, except it was leafy-green.

“Fire-spitter, did you wrong-turn?” the Le-Matoran teased.

“You tell me,” Vakama replied.

“Excuse me?” a gentle voice brought both he and the Le-Matoran’s attention. A Ga-Matoran was coming down the stairs. She had short blonde hair, and shining blue eyes. In her fist, she grasped a blue stone. “Did Toa Lhikan summon you too?”

“Seems that way,” the Le-Matoran grinned.

“Yeah, Lhikan summoned me too,” a Po-Matoran with spiky brown hair and brown eyes emerged from another door on the opposite side of the suva. Soon an Onu-Matoran and a Ko-Matoran entered the room as well, each carrying their own stones.

The Onu-Matoran had jet black hair and green eyes. The Ko-Matoran sported long white hair pulled back in a ponytail, a pair of glasses framed his icy blue eyes. Vakama was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed being surrounded by all these strangers. He looked down at his red stone, seeing his reflection. He noticed his long reddish hair was unkempt and his yellow eyes were full of worry. Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his face, and looked up to face the others.

All six matoran stood in a circle, facing each other and unsure of what to do.

“Well, we all have these stones,” the Ga-Matoran said, holding hers up.

“Yeah, now what?” the Po-Matoran said, rolling his stone from one hand to the other.

“Lhikan didn’t really say anything when he gave me mine,” the Onu-Matoran added.

The sound of grinding stone brought all six matoran to attention. The suva behind them had opened up, revealing six slots about the size of their stones.

The Ga-Matoran was the first one to step up to the suva. She placed her stone in the slot which was labeled with the symbol for water. It began to glow, and shot a beam of blue light up to the ceiling. The others gasped in awe, and one by one each matoran stepped up to the suva and placed their stones in their respective slots.

After Vakama placed his stone, all six beams of light bent in on themselves and a shape formed in the air above all of them. It was the shape of Toa Lhikan’s head. His noble voice filled the chamber.

“Matoran of Metru Nui,” he said, as each matoran looked on, “The city needs you. A shadow threatens its heart. Prove yourselves worthy Toa.”

At the word Toa, everyone gasped. Vakama felt his heart skip.

“Don't be afraid,” Lhikan’s voice continued, “The Great Spirit shall guide you in ways you couldn’t imagine.”

With that, Lhikan’s face dissolved, and an orb of white light glowed in its place. Lightning-like tendrils emerged from the orb, and struck each matoran square in the chest. Vakama felt as though he had been punched, and he fell flat on his back. Electricity jolted through him, and seemed to stretch his limbs. It was painful at first, but soon his muscles relaxed, and the electricity seemed to dissolve into a gentle warmth that coursed through his veins, and filled his body with energy.

When it was all over, Vakama sat up. One glance down, and his breath caught in his throat. He had grown several feet in height, and he now sported developed muscles. He was clothed in protective armor, and a crossbow lay at his feet. He glanced around the chamber, and saw the five others had gone through similar changes. Each stranger was now fitted in Toa armor, and each now held a unique weapon. The former Ko-Matoran in particular no longer wore glasses, and he looked around wide-eyed, as if seeing the world for the first time.

“Am I…a Toa?” the former Po-Matoran asked, mesmerized.

“If we appear to be Toa-heroes, then we are Toa-heroes!” the former Le-Matoran exclaimed.

“Amazing,” the former Ga-Matoran said, picking up a pair of long-handled axes.

After spending time admiring their new bodies and their new tools, the six gathered in a circle.

“Who could’ve predicted this?” the former Ko-Matoran said.

“Who cares? We’re Toa-heroes!” the former Le-Matoran said, swinging one of his new Toa tools wildly. The former Po-Matoran ducked just in time, and flashed a dirty look at him.

“What’s expected of us? We’re all just strangers,” the former Ko-Matoran continued.

“Well, let’s introduce ourselves, then,” the former Ga-Matoran said. She stepped forward, clearing her throat, “My name is Nokama, teacher from Ga-Metru. Nice to meet you all.”

“I’m Matau!” the former Le-Matoran chimed in, “Former test-driver and current Toa-hero, at your service!”

“My name’s Onewa,” the former Po-Matoran said, “and in a group of strangers, it seems some are stranger than others,” he nudged Vakama, whose gaze dropped to the floor.

“Your negativity pollutes this sanctuary, builder,” Nokama snapped. Onewa rolled his eyes.

“Save the lessons for your class, teacher,” he said.

“I’m Whenua,” the former Onu-Matoran interrupted, “Archivist.”

“Nuju of Ko-Metru Knowledge Tower 36-A,” the former Ko-Matoran said.

All five of them turned to Vakama. He felt uncomfortable with all their eyes on him, but he felt himself relax when he made eye contact with Nokama.

“And what’s your name?” she asked pleasantly. Vakama coughed nervously.

“Um, Vakama,” he said.

“Now that the naming game is over,” Onewa said, “What do we do now?”

“Did Lhikan tell anyone something useful?” Whenua added.

Vakama decided to speak up. “He told me we needed to save the heart of Metru Nui.”

Onewa sniffed, unimpressed. “That’s helpful.”

“He said there’s a darkness coming, and we need to stop it,” Vakama continued in spite of Onewa’s sarcasm, “then—then he was taken away. By a four-legged monster and some big brute.”

“Dark Hunters,” Nokama gasped.

“That’s right, those bounty hunters,” Nuju said, “I’ve seen them lurking about the city.”

“Are they the ‘darkness’ we need to stop?” Whenua asked.

Before Vakama could offer an answer, he felt his mid slipping away into another vision…

_He was standing in front of the Great Coliseum in the center of Metru Nui. Right before his eyes, the structure crumbled. The city became dark. Like last time, Toa Lhikan’s voice seemed to surround him._

_“Find the Great Disks,” the disembodied voice said, “Stave off the darkness.”_

_Six Kanoka Disks drifted in front of Vakama, then one by one they began to whizz towards him. He ducked and rolled, nearly getting hit as one whistled past his ear._

The vision began to fade, and Vakama noticed he was still trying to dodge objects that were no longer there. He froze, as five pair of eyes stared incredulously at him.

“What’s with him?” Matau asked, one eyebrow raised.

“All that time in a forge must’ve cooked his head,” Onewa said.

“I-I saw Metru Nui destroyed!” Vakama exclaimed, “And the Great Disks were—“

“Thanks for dream-sharing,” Matau snickered.

“Stop it, let’s hear Vakama out,” Nokama said to Matau, who folded his arms defiantly.

“We need to find the Great Disks,” Vakama said. He could tell half the Toa were intrigued, and half couldn’t have cared less. “Finding them will prove to Turaga Dume that we are worthy Toa!”

“Those disks are just a legend,” Nuju said, folding his arms.

“There’s a good chance they’re not,” Whenua interjected, “I’ve seen carvings in the Archives—“

“Old relics aren’t enough to prove a legend to be true,” Nuju interrupted. Whenua stared at him with hard annoyance.

“But maybe these would!” Nokama’s voice came from across the chamber. She was standing in front of a mural carved into the Temple wall. The other five Toa ran to gather around her, with Vakama trailing behind.

“Look,” Nokama said, running her finger over the runes, “It says right here, ‘The Great Kanoka Disks can be found by seeking the unfamiliar within the familiar.’”

“I hope there’s more, because that was less helpful that the fire-spitter’s mad vision,” Onewa said.

“There is more, builder, but maybe I don’t have to tell you about it,” Nokama snapped at him.

“Ugh, can we get on with this?” Matau complained, “I wanna have a Toa-adventure!”

“Everyone shut up!” Nuju said sharply, causing everyone to quiet down immediately, “Listen to Nokama.”

“Thank you, thinker,” Nokama smiled at Nuju, then turned back to the carvings.


	3. Search for the Great Kanoka

_In Po-Metru, you must seek a mountain in balance._

Onewa used his proto-piton to scale the rocky side of a large sculpture that really shouldn’t have been standing. From a distance, it had looked like a mountain flipped upside down, balancing on its peak. The higher he climbed, the more strain he felt on his new Toa muscles, and the more nervous he got about the structure’s balance.

Onewa glanced down, and the resulting wave of vertigo made him wish he didn’t. Sweat coated the palms of his hands, and he gripped his Toa tool so hard he was sure his fingers and knuckles would snap from the pressure. All his limbs screamed in agony. Craning his neck, Onewa looked up to where the strange glint towards the top of the structure was.

After a few agonizing minutes, The Toa of Stone reached that point. The glint was in fact the sun reflecting off the surface of a Great Kanoka Disk.

_So these things are real after all_ , he thought to himself. Still clinging on for dear life with one hand, he reached out the other to pry the Great Disk free. Just as the disk broke off from the rock it was embedded in, the structure slowly began to topple, taking Onewa with it.

His mind racing, the Toa of Stone tucked the disk under his arm and clung to his Toa tool. The ground was looming up faster now, so he decided he had no choice but to take a leap. Swinging from his proto-piton, Onewa launched himself as far away from the falling structure as he could. He landed hard on the ground, tumbling head over heels on the sand.

The structure’s shadow was upon him, and he reflected on his all too short existence as a Toa. Just as the massive mountain was about to land on him, Onewa threw his arms up in self-defense and squeezed his eyes shut. And he was not crushed.

Onewa’s eyes flew open, and he saw that he’d called forth slabs of rock from the ground, and stopped the mountain’s fall. He took long, heaving breaths, trying to lower his heart rate.

He stared at the Great Disk in his hands. This had better be worth it, he thought.

_In Ko-Metru, find where the sky and ice are joined._

Nuju stood high atop a Knowledge Tower, overlooking the district he called home. Though he wished he could be looking at the stars at that moment, he knew he had a job to do.

_When this whole ‘heart of Metru Nui’ nonsense is over, I’m going back to my Knowledge Tower_ , he thought.

Just as he could see the Vahki patrol on the street below turn a corner, Nuju leapt to the roof of the next tower. Though he had enjoyed being a matoran, Nuju had to admit to himself that the enhanced strength and agility of a Toa had its perks. He crouched down, and once again watched the Vahki patrols below. As soon as they passed, he leapt to the next tower.

Nuju repeated this a third time, only to realize he’d miscalculated his jump. Panic nearly seized his body as he came up just a tad short of the next roof. Icy wind screamed past him as he plummeted. With no other choice, he swung one of his new Toa tools, which caught onto its icy surface and slowed his fall drastically, carving a long, ugly gash in the tower’s side.

He clung to the side of the tower for a few moments to catch his breath. Nuju glanced down to see if any Vahki were alerted down below. None seemed to have been, so Nuju’s next plan of action was to begin the long climb up the tower. He got about halfway up when a dark shape within the ice caught his eye.

It was a Great Kanoka disk, frozen in the wall.

_The great disk of Le-Metru will be all around you when you find it._

Matau could barely hear over the howling winds. Debris spiraled around him at dizzying speeds. For the first time in his life, Matau started to feel motion sickness.

Force spheres were no joke, and as a former Le-Matoran Matau knew it just as well as anyone else from Le-Metru. When a Metru Nui transport chute was damaged, sometimes the magnetic field that held it together collapsed in on itself, forming a destructive sphere of energy that sucked in anything it happened to pass by. It was just Matau’s luck that the Great Disk of Le-Metru just had to be inside one.

As the Toa of Air was tossed about, he desperately tried to see which piece of debris inside the careening madness was the disk he was looking for. His lungs squeezed in themselves. There wasn’t much air in the sphere, and Matau could feel sickening dizziness begin to take over.

But his will was strong. He wasn’t going to die on his very first Toa-hero mission. What would Nokama say? Matau gritted his teeth. He continued his desperate and confused search. Just as he felt his vision begin to darken, Matau spotted something shiny. He instinctively grabbed it, and felt his fingers close around its smooth edge.

Holding it in front of his face, he realized with great delight that it was a Great Kanoka Disk. Concentrating harder than he ever had in his life, Matau used his new elemental powers to create a small blast of wind, which rocketed him out of the force sphere and out into open air. He sucked in a large lungful, and let it out enthusiastically.

With a huge grin on his face, Matau rode the air currents away from that sphere of madness. _Wait until the others hear about this!_ he mused.

_No door must be left unopened in Onu-Metru._

Whenua knew better than to go barging in to random rooms in the Archives, but he had no other way of knowing if a Great Disk wasn’t in one of them. Still, it did feel good to be back in the old dusty tunnels. He hadn’t been a Toa for long, but Whenua still thought he’d be happier cataloging artifacts and rahi specimen shipments than going on a dangerous scavenger hunt.

He pulled open the next large metal door in the hall, only to be met with the toothy jaws of a large worm-creature. Whenua slammed the door shut immediately, jumping backwards as the worm rammed the door and left a huge dent. He waited for a few more moments to make sure the creature didn’t break out, and continued on.

It didn’t take him long to reach the end of the hall. After checking the last two rooms, Whenua turned the corner, into a section he knew was a lot less frequented by visitors and archivists alike.

The rahi held in this section were extra dangerous, and were mainly kept for careful and extensive research. Whenua hoped he’d find the Great Disk soon, and that it wouldn’t be behind any of these doors.

He came upon a storage closet off to one side, and decided it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. After opening the door, dozens of artifacts and tablets collapsed on top of him. Whenua groaned, his head throbbing. He dug himself out of the pile, and rooted through it. He plunged his hand into the debris, and his fingers grasped something unusually smooth and flat. Pulling his hand out, Whenua nearly gasped with delight at the sight of a Great Disk clutched between his fingers.

His celebration would have to wait, however, since the noise of the clutter falling on him seemed to have woken up a lone rahkshi. Cursing to himself, Whenua bolted just as the monster blasted waves of heat energy from its eyes. The ground directly behind the Earth Toa was fried, and he could feel the heat from it.

He ran a ways, and turned a corner. Summoning his new earth powers, Whenua brought up a slab of dirt from the ground, forming a wall between him and the rahkshi. He continued to run, knowing it wouldn’t hold his pursuer for long.

Whenua made his way to the surface, disk under his arm and his head held high. His first Toa job. He had to admit this small victory felt pretty good. 

_In Ga-Metru, go beyond the depths of any Toa before._

Nokama didn’t have to go very far for her disk. Right outside the Great Temple, she dove into the surrounding sea of protodermis. She swam to the sandy seabed, weaving through coral reefs like the small fish that inhabited it. She surfaced every once in a while to take a breath of air.

It felt like hours, and Nokama began to feel a bit discouraged. No sign of a Great Disk anywhere on the sea floor that she could see. But the thought of the other Toa returning with their disks, and seeing that she had failed to retrieve hers filled her with determination. Not to mention, if Vakama’s vision was correct, all six disks were needed to save the city. Nokama took a deep breath, held it, and took the plunge once again.

Recalling the riddle from the Temple wall, Nokama decided to dive deeper. She scoured the ocean floor, forcing herself to hold her breath longer to save time. Nokama glanced up, and noticed she was nearly underneath the platform that held the Great Temple. She surfaced once again for air.

An idea struck her, and Nokama dove beneath the water once again, and kicked hard. She propelled herself forward, and plunged deeper and deeper into the black water underneath the Temple. She swam so far, she could just barely make out what was in front of her. When she couldn’t go any deeper, she stopped to look around. Of all the dark shapes, one caught her eye. It was small and round, about the size of a…

…Great Disk! Nokama kicked forward and grabbed the disk. She pried it loose from the spiky rocks it was stuck between. Satisfied with herself, she turned to begin swimming up to the surface again.

She didn’t get far before something wrapped around her ankle, and began to yank her backwards. She whirled, and found herself face to face with the most monstrous fish she’d ever seen in her life. Those spiky rocks were its teeth, she realized. Its large round eyes peered into her. Nokama also soon realized that what was wrapped around her ankle was a bizarre tentacle-like protrusion from the fish’s head. She kicked hard, but she couldn’t loosen its grip. Nokama began to feel her lungs strain for air.

With her newfound connection with the element of water, Nokama balked at the idea of hurting sealife. But this time she was willing to make an exception. With one smooth motion, she sliced the tentacle with her axe, and called upon the water to rocket her up to the surface. She hit open air, and took in a few hungry breaths.

Nokama blasted herself out of the water with her new powers, and landed on the Great Temple’s platform, stumbling slightly. She sighed, and glanced down at the Great Disk.

_That could’ve been much worse_ , she thought happily.

_Embrace the root of fire in Ta-Metru._

Vakama peered into the fire pits through the electrified fence. With Vahki guarding the entrance, he decided he needed to find another way in. He called upon his new power over fire, and melted a large enough portion of the fence to crawl through.

Even as a native of this district, Vakama found the fire pits to be excessively hot. This was where all the molten protodermis for the forges came from. The riddle in the Great Temple said the Ta-Metru Great Disk would be found in the “root of fire,” so this had to be the place. Sweat beaded his forehead and dripped down his face, but Vakama pressed on, glancing back every now and again to check if the Vahki guards had noticed the hole he melted in the fence.

The flaming geysers here was the main reason matoran almost never came here. They erupted at random times, spewing molten protodermis upwards with incredible force. Vakama glanced into each one right after they erupted, pulling back quickly to prevent having the flesh melted off his bones.

After searching each geyser, Vakama finally spotted the one that contained a small shiny round object. He sighed, seeing the Great Disk embedded in the wall inside the geyser. He waited patiently, and after it erupted, he didn’t hesitate to lower himself down, melting hand holds into the wall along the way with his newfound control over fire. He reached the disk, and pried it loose. Wasting no time, Vakama scrambled back out, and dove away just as the geyser erupted again.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He could barely savor his victory for a moment before something slithered up to him, wrapped around his wrists and ankles, and pulled him away.

* * *

It had been about a few days before the new Toa gathered once again in the sacred chamber of the Great Temple, each holding a Great Disk in their hands.

Nokama smiled as each of her companions told their tale of finding their disk. She told her story as well, and felt warm at their praises. She glanced at each one of them, but realized one was absent.

“Has anyone seen Vakama?” she asked. Each Toa’s face fell, and exchanged awkward glances with one another.

“Something must’ve happened to him in Ta-Metru,” Nokama said, springing to her feet, “We should go look for him.”

“Hold on,” Onewa said, “Maybe he’s just late.”

“I’d give the fire-spitter another day or so,” Matau said, leaning nonchalantly against the wall.

“But what if he’s in danger? And we just waited around only for him to turn up dead?” Nokama asked, panic rising in her. Whenua placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I think you have a valid point, Nokama,” he said gently, “But maybe we shouldn’t jump to the worst-care scenario, here.”

“You’re right,” she said, sighing heavily, “But I think we should still look for him.”

“You know what? I’m with Nokama,” Matau said, standing to his full height, “After all, what kind of Toa-heroes would we be if we let something sorry-bad happen to our teammate?”

* * *

Vakama’s eyes flew open, an immense pressure in his skull. It didn’t take him long to realize he was suspended upside down, still bound by his ankles and wrists. He tugged at his bonds, only to have them react by tightening their grip. He was beginning to lose feeling in his limbs. Sweat dripped into his eyes.

He took in his surroundings. He wasn’t in the fire pits anymore. He was indoors, he knew that much. The inside of the structure was reinforced metal, and the air was thick with smoke and heat. Even as a new Toa of Fire the heat was oppressive, even more so than the fire pits. Vakama coughed, eyes tearing up from all the smoke.

He glanced down at himself, and the blackened tendrils wrapped around him. Morbuzakh vines, he thought grimly. He tried struggling again, and the tendrils tightened even more. His mind reeled to think of another plan. A sudden thought struck him.

The Great Disk! Where was the Great Disk?!

Vakama tried twisting his body around, looking to see if it was still on his person. His breath caught in his throat. A morbuzakh vine snaked into view, wrapped tightly around the Great Disk. In the next moment, a faint whisper surrounded him, sending a chill through him in spite of the heat.

_Looking for this?_ It said.

“Who’s there?” Vakama choked, throat raw.

The whispery voice laughed. Vakama made the mistake of struggling again, only for his limbs to go completely numb from the vines tightening harder around them.

_I am the Morbuzakh._

Vakama gasped. So, the vines infesting his district could think. He clenched his teeth, still trying to think of a way out of this. Concentrating, he began channeling his new fire power into his limbs, hoping to burn away the vines that bound him. Much to his dismay, the vines only seemed to swell at the influx of heat.

_Ah yes,_ the Morbuzakh hissed, _Fire feeds me._

Panic began pulsing through Vakama. With no way to reach his Toa tool, and his elemental power completely useless, what else was there to do? He recalled that every Toa also had a kanohi power along with their elemental power, but what could his be? And how was he supposed to activate it?

Then another thought hit him. The vines loved heat, so how would they react without heat? Vakama had no idea if it would work…but if he didn’t at least try he’d be dead and the city would be short one more Toa after only a few days. He tapped into his elemental powers again, this time he started taking in the heat.

He felt himself swell with energy as he absorbed more into his body. The temperature of the room was dropping by the second, and he could see the vines around him begin to shiver, and loosed their grip. With reflexes that surprised even himself, Vakama grabbed the Great Disk from the Morbuzakh and tumbled to the floor of the chamber. Panting heavily, and shaking his wrists to return feeling into his hands, he ran for an exit. Slithering sounds surrounded him, and he turned to see more vines grabbing for him once again.

Vakama absorbed more heat, and soon frost began forming on the vines, and they shriveled and shrank away, retreating into another room. Feeling an immense pressure within him, Vakama released all the heat in one powerful elemental burst, blasting a hole in the wall. He wasted no time running through it.

Once outside, he looked back at the building. The impressive high spire clued him in; it was the Great Furnace. So, that’s where the morbuzakh vines had been coming from, he thought. He glanced down at his Great Disk, and determination coursed through him. The others need to know about this, he thought, and began sprinting towards the outskirts of Ta-Metru.

He didn’t get far, before spotting something flying high above him. Normally birds didn’t fly over Ta-Metru due to its heat… Vakama squinted at the figure, realizing it was Toa-shaped.

“Hey! Fire-spitter!” Matau’s voice reached him down below, and Vakama stopped running.

“Matau?” he called back. The Toa of Air swooped upwards, did a backflip, and dropped to the ground. Vakama felt a blast of wind as Matau cushioned his fall with his powers. He landed lightly on his feet in front of the Toa of Fire.

“We were wondering what was keeping you,” Matau said, smacking Vakama playfully on the shoulder.

“Morbuzakh vines,” Vakama answered simply, holding up his Great Disk.

“Oh, those things again?” Matau said.

“Yes, but that’s not all,” Vakama said. Matau raised an eyebrow. “It can think.”

“Come again?”

“The Morbuzakh vine is alive, and it has a consciousness!” Vakama said.

“That’s crazy-bad,” Matau snickered, but stopped when he noticed Vakama’s hard look.

“This isn’t funny, Matau. This means the vines are more than just a pest. We should get rid of it once and for all.”

“Okay, okay,” Matau said, taking a step back from the fire Toa, “How do you propose we do that?”

Vakama pointed towards the Great Furnace with his Great Kanoka Disk. “I know where its root lives.”


	4. The King Root

After Matau reported back to the other Toa about finding Vakama, all six managed to meet up. Vakama quickly told them all about his capture, and the threat the Morbuzakh posed to the whole city.

“Let’s not waste any more time,” Nuju spoke up as soon as Vakama finished talking, “The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can go back to my Knowledge Tower.”

“That’s assuming being a Toa-hero is a part-time job,” Matau scoffed.

“I don’t know, I kinda agree with icebrain,” Onewa stated. Nuju glared at him, and Onewa pretended not to notice. “I’d like to go back to carving.”

“Regardless,” Nokama interrupted, “We should take care of the vines, then present these disks to Turaga Dume.”

“Okay,” Vakama agreed, “Follow me, the Great Furnace is this way."

The six walked in relative silence. Their footsteps were drowned out by the humming of several hundred forges in the district. No one said a word to each other.

Vakama stopped outside the front entrance of the Great Furnace. The hole he’d burned through the wall was still there. There were never any guards posted here, not even Vahki. No matoran ever had a reason to be at the Great Furnace. At least we won’t run into any patrols, he thought. He turned to the other Toa.

“Here we are. The Morbuzakh is inside,” he said. Each Toa nodded their silent agreement. They all entered the building, and Vakama could hear most of them gasp audibly at the wave of sweltering heat coming from the building’s core.

Vakama had never been inside the Great Furnace as a matoran, but he thankfully spotted the door the vines had disappeared into after his escape. He gripped his Great Disk tighter, and detached his crossbow from his back armor. The clanking of metal behind him suggested the other Toa were also unsheathing their weapons.

“The vines love the heat, but they really hate the cold,” he said.

They entered the largest chamber in the center of the building. Its vaulted ceiling reached a height that was rivaled only by the Great Coliseum in the center of Metru Nui. An immense reservoir of molten protodermis took up most of the space, and from it rose the largest, twisted plant any of them had ever laid eyes on. The Morbuzakh root was like an immense black tree trunk from which thousands of tendrils snaked from in all directions. It towered stories high, its many branches interwoven within the braces and latticework of the furnace ceiling. Looking up at it made Vakama feel like an insect. He glanced at the other Toa, and he was a tiny bit comforted at the fact that they all looked as terrified as he felt.

“Um, I think we need more Toa,” Onewa chuckled, tightening his grip on his proto-piton.

“We’d need an army,” Whenua breathed, sounding an equal mixture of frightened and fascinated.

“This is our chance,” Nokama said, “We’ll use the Great Disks and—“

  
_NOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

The whole place shook from the unearthly sound.

“What the hell was that?” Matau yelped, pointing his aero slicers every which way.

_I am the King Root of the Morbuzakh_.

“Everyone is hearing this, right?” Nuju asked nervously.

_You are in my domain. And you shall be punished._

“The good news is, seems Vakama isn’t mad-crazy after all,” Matau joked. Vakama didn’t get a chance to shoot him a dirty look, because the King Root spoke again, rattling his very bones.

_You were foolish to come here, Toa. Here is where I will make your graves!_

Vines shot at them from every direction. Vakama felt the blackened tendrils wrap themselves around his waist and yank him into the air. Without thinking, he aimed his crossbow and fired at the vine. The firebolt was absorbed into the plant.

_Have you not learned, Toa? Fire gives me life!_

In the next instant, the vine was coated in a layer of frost. A violent spasm shook through it, and it released Vakama, who plummeted to the floor, but not before landing on an ice slide that carried him safely down. Nuju stood beside him. Vakama nodded in gratitude, but the cries of the other Toa brought him to attention.

Nuju didn’t waste any time. Focusing his power through his ice spike weapons, he shot sharpened icicles in several directions, slicing through the vines that held the other Toa. Now freed, each used their own elemental power to break their long fall back to the floor of the furnace. Matau cushioned himself with a pocket of air while Nokama did the same with a stream of water she conjured from her hydro blades. Both Whenua and Onewa called slabs of earth and stone to catch and lower themselves to the floor at a more reasonable speed.

All six Toa regrouped, forming a circle in which they each faced outwards. More vines came after them, and they defended themselves with their Toa tools. Vakama brandished his crossbow much like a sword, since its main function was useless against the Morbuzakh. The hum of the furnace, the sizzling smoke from the molten protodermis, and the slithering of vines and the clashing of Toa tools with the twisted plant filled the chamber with a nigh unbearable din.

_I grow weary of this battle!_ The King Root snarled, and hundreds of the normal-sized tendrils wove together to form a larger vine that swept all six Toa’s feet out from under them. Vakama landed hand on his side, on top of the hand that held the Great Disk of Ta-Metru.

The Toa all rolled and ducked from more incoming vines, scrambling to get back on their feet. Blasts of water, ice, earth, air, and stone filled the chamber, hitting their targets but barely slowing them down. Nuju’s blasts were having the most effect, but as the battle wore on he began to show signs of tiring. Not to mention the heat of the furnace melted his ice rather quickly.

_All you Toa must be punished!_ The King Root screamed, sending even more vines after them. _Ta-Metru is mine to rule!_

“No matoran will follow the rule of a damn plant,” Vakama snarled, calling upon his elemental powers to begin absorbing the heat in the room, “Everybody! Use the Great Disks!”

Vakama raised his disk above his head, and in glancing around he saw that the other Toa were doing the same. One by one, all while dodging blows from the morbuzakh vines, the six Toa tossed the disks as hard as they could. The Great Kanoka whistled through the smoky air. Meanwhile, the Morbuzakh began to slow as the temperature in the furnace dropped.

Vakama held his breath, the heat he absorbed throbbing painfully in his body, as the six Great Disks zipped and dodged each approaching vine and begin to glow in midair. The six Great Kanoka Disks finally came to a stop, mere feet from the King Root itself. Electricity sparked between them, and finally a blast of combined energy struck the root, slicing it all the way through.

The damage done, the King Root screamed, as the Morbuzakh in its entirety began to shrivel and crumble to dust. Vakama released the heat he absorbed into a fiery blast, melting a hole in the ceiling above the reservoir. As he began to collapse, someone caught him. Out of the corner of the eye he saw Nokama, with her arm wrapped around his waist. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

“Well done,” she said.

“Thank you,” Vakama answered, gasping from the physical exertion.

“Guys? We need to get out of here!” Whenua cried, pointing to the ceiling. As the Morbuzakh was crumbling, it was bringing the Great Furnace down with it as well.

“What about the Great—,” Onewa started, but soon he and all the other Toa saw the six Kanoka whizzing through the air back at each of them. Each Toa caught their disk, and turned to run for the exit. Nokama pulled Vakama along, who was still a bit weak to run on his own.

They all made it out just as the great Furnace imploded, its great spire reduced to a crumpled smoking heap. They all sat on the ground for a bit, exhausted from their very first Toa battle.

“What a rush,” Matau breathed, lying on his back.

“That was an impressive stunt back there,” Whenua said to Vakama. The fire Toa managed a smile.

“Thanks, archivist,” he said.

“No offense, fire-spitter,” Onewa coughed and Vakama braced for another insult, “but I never want to fight on your turf again.” The Toa of Stone wiped sweat from his brow, and Vakama found himself laughing a little. Soon the rest of the Toa joined him.

Once they all recovered, the six new Toa rose to their feet. Their first battle won, each felt a renewed sense of purpose and triumph. While each experienced an abrupt end to their simple matoran lives, they all began to feel that their new roles as Toa wouldn’t be so bad. All that was left to do was to present the Great Kanoka Disks to Turaga Dume at the Coliseum, and they would be proclaimed as the new heroes of Metru-Nui. And with the defeat of the Morbuzakh vines, they felt they had all they needed to secure themselves as the new guardians of the city.


	5. Trouble Underground

On the pathway to the Great Coliseum at the center of the city, the Toa Metru walked together, discussing their plans for the future. After being established as the new guardians of Metru Nui, everyone figured they could go their separate ways and continue their lives in their districts until danger struck again.

“You guys wait, I’ll build statues like you’ve never seen!” Onewa said.

“I’ll do great Toa-hero deeds!” Matau said, grinning, “They’ll have many tales to tell about me! What about you, Nokama?”

“I guess with my new abilities, I can travel just about anywhere I want,” Nokama said, “I’ve always wanted to explore past the city’s borders.”

“I’ll be fine just going back to my studies,” Nuju said.

“Well, you’re no fun,” Matau teased. Nuju didn’t respond in any way.

Whenua noticed that Vakama hadn’t said a word in a long time. Before he could bring it up, Nokama did it for him.

“What about you, Vakama?” Nokama asked gently. The Fire Toa hesitated for a while. Lhikan made it seem like there was a looming danger over the city, and Vakama worried that their duty as new Toa would be far from simple in the coming weeks.

“I’d be happy going back to my forge actually,” was all he said.

Onewa sniffed, rolling his eyes.

As the others continued walking and talking, Whenua spotted a familiar face up ahead.

“Nuparu?” he asked, jogging ahead of the other Toa.

“A friend of yours?” Onewa asked, but Whenua didn’t hear him. The matoran inventor looked out of breath, his green eyes wide with panic.

“Nuparu, what are you doing here?” Whenua asked.

“W-whenua,” Nuparu panted, “It’s the Archives!”

Whenua’s full attention was earned, his mind reeled. “What? What’s wrong?” he asked the Onu-matoran.

“They’re going to flood! There’s a leak—below the sub-levels! The sea’ll flood and destroy the exhibits!”

“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry,” Whenua assured, “Just hold on one minute, okay?”  
He left Nuparu to catch his breath, and sprinted back to the other Toa Metru.

“Sorry, guys, I have to take care of something. Tell Turaga Dume I’ll be late, okay?”

Matau gave a short laugh, “Oh sure, that’ll look real good. ‘Hey, Turaga, we’re the new Toa! One isn’t here, because he’s off doing something important without us.’”

“Airhead has a point,” Onewa said.

“Hey!” Matau snapped at him.

“If it really is that important, Whenua, maybe we should all go together,” Nokama said, “What do you think, Vakama?”

Before Vakama could speak, Onewa laughed incredulously.

“Who died and made the fire-spitter leader?” The Toa of Stone said.

“I never said I was the leader!” Vakama retorted, and turned his gaze to Nokama, “You’re more suited for the job.”

“But—“ Nokama began, but Nuju interrupted.

“—We’re wasting time here. Either we all go help Whenua, or we all go to the Coliseum. Whichever gets me home to Ko-Metru faster,” the Ice Toa said coldly.

“All in favor for going to the Archives?” Nokama asked everyone. After a few minutes, nearly everyone had raised their hands except Matau and Onewa. The Air Toa looked uneasy, but slowly raised his hand.

“I don’t like the idea of going underground, but if there’s a Toa-deed to be done…” he trailed off at the end. Shortly after, Onewa raised his hand as well, eyes rolled.

“Let’s get this over with,” he grumbled.

Whenua smiled. “Okay, then let’s go.” He turned to Vakama. “Is it alright if I take the lead on this one?”

“It’s your district. Besides, you don’t need my permission,” Vakama said quietly. Whenua nodded, then turned, heading back to where Nuparu stood.

“Show us that leak,” Whenua ordered, and with a relieved look in his eyes, Nuparu nodded and lead the Toa in the direction of Onu-Metru.

* * * 

After Whenua found each Toa a lightstone, they entered the Archives. The tunnels ranged from just wide enough for all six Toa to walk side by side to barely wide enough for them to walk single file. Whenua led his fellow Toa deeper into the Archives, further than he ever dared to go as a matoran. He’d heard too many stories of mysterious disappearances and of matoran losing their sanity down there, but his fear for the damage a leak would do to the exhibits kept him going.

They reached the last sublevel, and Whenua turned to his new comrades, each of which wore an expression of unease, especially Matau.

“Okay, below this level is where the leak should be,” Whenua said, “Everyone ready?”

“I’m not,” Matau said grimly, “but a Toa-hero’s gotta do what a Toa-hero’s gotta do.”

Without another word, they ventured deeper into the depths of the Onu-Metru archives. Whenua’s mind shifted through all the information he could remember about what was down this deep. His steps nearly faltered when he recalled nothing that lived here was friendly.

After what had to be more than an hour of walking, the six Toa Metru found the tunnel forked six ways just up ahead. Each tunnel was only narrow enough for one to pass through.

“Which way now, librarian?” Onewa asked.

“We should split up here,” Whenua’s answer was met by a collective gasp of disbelief form all his companions.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Nokama asked.

“They all meet back at the same point on the other side,” Whenua explained.

“You’re crazy if you think I’m going in one of those alone,” Matau said. His arms were folded and his hands gripped his arms hard, clearly trying to hide the fact that he was shaking slightly.

“If Whenua says splitting up is the best way, then I think we should listen to him,” Vakama said.

“It’ll be alright, Matau,” Nokama said, placing a hand on the Air Toa’s shoulder. Matau’s posture seemed to straighten out more, and he smiled at the Water Toa.

“Each of us will take a tunnel, seal up any cracks we might see, then we’ll all meet up at the end,” Whenua said.

“Sounds like a plan,” Nuju said, “Let’s just do it.”

Wordlessly, each Toa stood in front of a different tunnel entrance.

“Well, it was nice knowing you, Nokama,” Matau grinned, and stepped into his tunnel. Whenua went into another tunnel, gripping his lightstone hard in his fist. Even for one who spent his entire life underground, Whenua was nervous, and hoped with all his heart that the mission would go smoothly and they could all make it to the Coliseum soon enough.

* * * 

Nokama shone her lightstone all along the walls of the narrow tunnel. So far, she’d encountered no cracks at all. With each minute that went by the fear that they were being led on a wild rahi chase was growing in the back of her mind. She didn’t know Nuparu; Whenua seemed to trust him, but what if it was a trick? Or what if he made a mistake and thought he saw something that wasn’t there? She gripped her lightstone tighter. She kept hearing strange sounds, and the thought of how much earth was hanging above her head made her break out in a cold sweat.

_You’re just scared and you’re hearing things_ , she told herself. _Don’t lost your composure. You are a Toa, you can handle anything now…_

But she stopped when the unmistakable sound of footsteps ahead reached her ears. Nokama held up her lightstone, squinting to see if she could make out anything in the distance. From the shadows stepped a reptilian head and a sloped back covered in spikes. A pair of glowing eyes peered at her with beastly menace.

She remembered from her studies that this thing was called a rahkshi. Still holding her lightstone in one hand, she unsheathed one of her hydro blades from her back with the other hand. She took a defensive stance, waiting for the creature to make a move.

The rahkshi hissed, stepping forward. Behind it a small group of glowing insects swarmed. Nokama watched as the creature’s eyes flashed brightly for a second, and the insect swarm buzzed rapidly in her direction. She conjured up two bladelike blasts of water from her Toa tool, slicing through too few of the insects, which began swirling around her, filling her head with the incessant din of their buzzing.

Concentrating, Nokama drew in as much moisture from the air as she could, then released a deluge that blasted the swarm away from her in all directions. The insects drowned and lay twitching on the tunnel floor. Nokama lifted her gaze to the rahkshi, who took a step back as if it didn’t know what to do next. She sent a blast of water after it, but the creature managed to dodge it despite the lack of space in the tunnel. Its body was quickly swallowed by the shadows up ahead.

“We’re not done here!” Nokama shouted, running after it. She never saw it again, even after running for a few minutes at her full speed. Nokama stopped, her rapid breaths filling the tunnel with sound. She shone her lightstone all around, but there was nothing but solid earth and rock all around. She continued as she was doing before, treading carefully and checking the walls for cracks.

* * *

Vakama whirled around at the slightest sound, his heart pounding. His lightstone revealed no other entities in the small tunnel with him, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched by something, or someone.

He hadn’t found any cracks either. He hoped he and the other Toa found the leak soon, because he really didn’t want to be down here longer than was necessary. As much as he disliked agreeing with Matau, he couldn’t help but feel the same way about being underground. The earth hanging over his head along with the cold was so alien to him, almost the opposite of his forge back in Ta-Metru.

A shiver traveled down his spine. There it was again, the feeling of unfriendly eyes on him. Footsteps began echoing through the narrow space, and Vakama quickened his pace. He checked behind him over his shoulder for a few steps, then when he turned back around he ran into something so suddenly that he jumped out of his skin. Vakama had his crossbow out and ready before quickly realizing that it was none other than Nokama standing in front of him.

“N-Nokama?” he stammered, feeling a swell of relief in his chest.

The Toa of Water smiled pleasantly at him.

“Mata Nui, you scared me,” he said. Nokama continued to stare and smile at him without saying a word.

“Um, so, have you found anything yet?”

Nokama shook her head wordlessly.

“Did…does your tunnel intersect with mine? I haven’t seen any other tunnel openings in a while…”

Vakama looked at the Water Toa’s blank expression, and her strange smile. Before he could ask what was wrong with her, he was struck by a powerful blast of water that knocked him backwards several yards. He landed on his back, and the wind was knocked out of him. In spite of the pain, he sat up as quickly as he could, only to be hit with another blast of water. He skidded even further back down the tunnel.

“What are you doing?!” he yelled in frustration. This time water struck him on the side, sending him crashing into the wall. His shoulder throbbed, but he readied his crossbow nonetheless. He sent firebolt after firebolt in Nokama’s direction, but the Water Toa dodged them nimbly, moving rather gracefully in the small tunnel.

“Nokama, what’s gotten into you?” Vakama cried, but Nokama sent a powerful wave after him, which swept him off his feet and carried him even further backwards through the tunnel.

When he came to, Vakama was soaking wet, and Nokama was nowhere to be seen. He picked up his lightstone from the floor, silently thanking Mata Nui that he hadn’t lost it. But he was soon overtaken by anger. Why would Nokama do such a thing to him? Has she lost her mind, or was she planning on betraying the Toa Metru all this time? Gritting his teeth, Vakama began jogging quickly through the tunnel to make up for all the progress he had lost.

_I thought of all of them, she’d be a friend_ , Vakama thought angrily, _I guess I was wrong._

* * *

Onewa trudged through his tunnel, and after a long time of seeing nothing but smooth earthy walls he was beginning to lose his mind with boredom. Not a single tiny crack could be found. At the very least, he was happy to be away from the others. Ever since he became a Toa, Onewa wondered why they of all people were chosen by Lhikan. They barely got along, and each was annoying and slightly insane in their own ways. The sanest one had to be Nokama, but even she seemed like an insufferable know-it-all to him.

He sighed. He tried his best to at the very least enjoy the silence of the tunnel. Being surrounded by rock was alright by him. He just wished it didn’t have to smell so musty down here. Soon enough, he began picking up faint sounds, whose origins he couldn’t tell if his life depended on it. Still clutching his lightstone, Onewa slowly unsheathed his proto-piton from his back armor.

He heard footsteps. He shone his lightstone around, but couldn’t see anything but the rocky walls on either side of him, as well as endless darkness behind and in front of him. Onewa continued walking, doing his best to ignore the sound, but it soon became impossible. He stopped dead, brandishing his weapon.

“Okay, show yourself and spare me the theatrics,” he said into the darkness. His grip tightened on the handle of his Toa tool. Someone stepped from the darkness into the glow of his lightstone.

“Fire-spitter?” Onewa exclaimed. The Fire Toa stood there, smiling.

Onewa stared at him for a few seconds. He dropped his weapon down to his side.

“Uh, how did you get in here?”

Vakama continued to stare at him blankly.

“Hello, did you go deaf or something?” Onewa said, putting his weapon away and stepping forward. “What are you doing here? Did you find any leaks?”

“Hello,” Vakama said. Onewa stared at him incredulously.

“Vakama,” he said, his annoyance growing, “What is going on?”

The next moment, he was faced with a blazing inferno, which he barely had enough time to dodge. Onewa took his weapon out again. Vakama tossed a few fireballs in his direction, and Onewa ducked and rolled out of their way.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?!” Onewa shouted. More fire blazed in his direction, surrounding him. Sweat began beading all over his body. “Vakama! Cut it out!”

Onewa began slinging rocks in the Fire Toa’s direction, but he seemed to vanish into the darkness ahead.

“Get back here, smelt-head!” Onewa snarled, running after Vakama.

* * *

Nuju was in the worst mood he’s ever been in. Everything about this domain was an absolute nightmare. Eerie sounds surrounded him and it smelled horrible; how could a stench be wet and dusty at the same time? He craved the clean, crisp air of Ko-Metru, high in his study in Knowledge Tower 36-A. Nuju was lost in that beautiful thought when he tripped on a stray rock.

“Dammit!” he spat, kicking it as hard as he could. He shone his lightstone all around, checking every inch of the earthy wall. Not even a scratch, much less a leak. He let out a short sigh of frustration.

Suddenly the ground underneath him shook violently. A cry of distress echoed through the tunnel, and as quickly as the shaking started, it stopped. Nuju trudged ahead, wondering about the origin of that scream, hoping it wasn’t some crazed lunatic archivist that got lost down here.

The voice reached his ears again. “Someone! Help!”

Nuju could barely make it out, but it sounded a lot like Matau. He sprinted forward, lighting the way with his lightstone. It didn’t take him long to find that not only was there another tunnel opening off to his right, but there was a big pile of rocks in the middle of it. And underneath it he could see a hand, a bit of silver armor, and some reddish hair.

“Matau?” he cried, dropping to his knees to begin shifting the rubble off the Air Toa.

“Nuju!” Matau exclaimed, “Man, I never thought I’d be happy to see you!”

“Thanks,” Nuju said with no attempt to hide his sarcasm.

When he finished clearing the rocks, Matau sat up, groaning and rubbing his temples.

“What happened?” Nuju said.

“Onewa,” Matau answered, coughing, “Onewa happened.”

“Care to explain in a little more detail?”

“I saw him in my tunnel, and when I said hi he brought the wall down on me,” Matau stood slowly and painfully, “Oh yeah, he also did that.”

Nuju followed Matau’s pointer finger and by the lightstone’s glow he could see dark scorch marks on the rocky wall.

“How did he do that?” Nuju said.

“All I know is that Onewa’s gone mad-crazy and I need to teach him a lesson,” Matau grumbled, unsheathing his aero slicers.

“Let’s go, then. Before he attacks anyone else,” Nuju said. The two Toa continued down the tunnel, and all the while Nuju’s mind reeled.

_Why would Onewa do such a thing? And how did he use fire? Maybe he was planning this the whole time…_ While all these thoughts went through Nuju’s head, he walked alongside an angry and unusually silent Matau through the tunnel, anticipating the moment they reached the exit.

* * *

Nokama had quickened her pace, eventually breaking into a run. Between the tunnel shaking and what she thought was someone yelling, panic had set in. Even after minutes of running, the adrenaline was still fresh. She wanted nothing more for the tunnel to end, and for her to meet up with the other Toa Metru again.

As she ran, she heard more voices, some scratching, and footsteps. _Please, Mata Nui_ , she pleaded silently, _please don’t let that rahkshi show up again_. Now that she thought about it, it was rather strange that the creature had retreated so quickly, and after barely putting up a fight for that matter. From what she’d read in books, rahkshi usually didn’t run away from a good fight.

She held up her lightstone again, and with a surge of relief she could see a tunnel opening straight ahead. Nokama sprinted harder, and found herself in a larger chamber, and the five other tunnel openings next to the one she just came out of.

_I guess I’m the first one_ , she thought, slightly pleased with herself.

“Good to see you again,” said an angry voice behind her. Nokama jumped and turned to face…

“Vakama?” she exclaimed. But the fire Toa didn’t waste any time shooting firebolts from his crossbow at her. She dodged them, but not without breaking out in a sweat from the heat and the exertion from all that running before.

“I don’t know why you’d betray a fellow Toa like that,” Vakama was saying, his brow furrowed, “But I won’t let you get away with it!”

“What are you ta—“ Nokama ducked to avoid another firebolt. “Vakama, what are you talking about?!”

“Don’t play stupid, Nokama! I suppose some other water Toa attacked me in the tunnel not too long ago?!”

“Whoever it was, it wasn’t me!” The fire kept coming, and Nokama finally gave in to frustration. She began slinging water in Vakama’s direction. Fire and water flew back and forth for a while, occasionally colliding and bursting into hot steam. Nokama called upon more power, summoning a large wave that knocked the fire Toa into a wall. He sat for a moment, coughing, then pushed himself back onto his feet. His yellow eyes burned with hurt and anger.

“I thought…” Vakama gasped, readying his crossbow, “You…were a friend…”

Nokama sighed, dropping her hydro blades and raising her hands in surrender. “I am, Vakama. I promise I didn’t attack you—“

A large stone came sailing out of nowhere and struck Vakama in the shoulder, knocking him sideways. Blood ran down his arm, and Vakama fell to one knee. Nokama looked up to see Onewa stepping out of one of the tunnel openings.

“Finally I caught up to you, treacherous bastard,” Onewa growled, levitating rocks and small boulders around him. Before Nokama could react, Onewa threw the stones in Vakama’s direction. The Fire Toa threw up a dense wall of fire to defend himself, melting down the stones before they could strike him.

“Who are you calling treacherous?” Vakama snapped, shooting firebolts at Onewa this time. The Toa of Stone rolled out of the way, slinging more rocks in Vakama’s direction.

“You know what you did, you cross-wired freak!” Onewa shouted.

“Hold on, what’s going on here?” Nokama called out to them. Just then, a small whirlwind whistled through the chamber and struck Onewa from behind, knocking him off his feet. He dropped hard onto the ground. Nokama turned to see Matau, scowling, pointing one of his aero slicers in Onewa’s direction.

“Everyone stand back,” Matau said with uncharacteristic darkness in his voice, “I’m gonna beat the hell out of this traitor.”

“What’re you talking about? Vakama’s the one! Attack him!” Onewa grunted, pushing himself off the ground.

“You attacked me, not Vakama,” Matau snarled, tossing another whirlwind in the Stone Toa’s direction.

“He’s right,” Nuju said, appearing behind the Air Toa, “I found Matau buried in a pile of stones back in those tunnels. Although I should mention the scorch marks on the walls.”

“Scorch marks?” Nokama asked, and turned to Vakama, who gave her an incredulous look.

“I haven’t seen Matau since we all split up!” The Fire Toa said, “The only one I saw was Nokama, who attacked me!”

“Look,” Nokama snapped, pointing at Vakama, “The only thing I encountered in those tunnels was a rahkshi. I did not attack you!”

“Well, I didn’t attack Onewa!” Vakama said.

“And I didn’t attack Matau!” Onewa added.

Everyone stood for a tense moment. The air in the chamber seemed to drop in temperature, as if the silence between them was slowly condensing into ice. Just then footsteps broke through the cold air, and Whenua stepped into the middle of the scattered group of angry Toa.

“What’s going on here?” The Earth Toa said. Everyone began talking at once, of their encounters with another Toa who attacked them, and who was and wasn’t a traitor.

“Shut up, all of you!” Whenua shouted, shocking everyone into falling silent. “I know what’s going on. None of you were attacked by who you thought.”

“Hey, I know what I saw!” Onewa snapped, and Whenua gave him a hard look.

“What you saw was an illusion. You were all attacked by the Krahka.”

“What’s that?” Matau asked.

“A very dangerous rahi. A shape-shifter,” Whenua explained. Matau sheathed his weapons and sighed. “She can mimic the appearance and the powers of anyone she’s seen,” Whenua continued, “And we just stepped into her territory.”

“So that’s why ‘Onewa’ could use stone and fire abilities,” Nokama mused.

“Fantastic, this is just what we needed,” the Air Toa groaned.


	6. Shapeshifter

Matau crept behind his fellow Toa, trying to ignore the closed-in feeling that had nagged him since they all set foot in the Archives. Besides the fact that he was underground, Matau’s mind was also clouded with worries of a dangerous shapeshifter lurking beyond the glow of their lightstones. To calm himself, he watched Nokama walk in front of him; so elegant and confident.

_If she can handle this, so can I_ , he thought to himself. He straightened his posture, breathing steadily to keep himself from panicking.

“We should be getting close soon,” Whenua said from the front of the group.

“I hope you’re right,” Onewa muttered, “This mission is getting ridiculous.”

Matau noticed that somehow the glow of the lightstones were dimming. He tapped his own lightstone curiously. Lightstones didn’t ever run out of light, that was kind of what made them so handy. He raised his lightstone high above his head. Its brightness got dimmer still.

“Um, guys?” he said.

“Yeah, what’s going on here?” Vakama asked up ahead.

All the Toa Metru hesitated, shining their lightstones this way and that as their glow seemed to dim even more. Matau hugged his arms around himself. Just ahead of him he noticed Nokama shiver.

“This doesn’t seem natural,” she said, “It’s like the darkness is…alive.”

“That’s not possible,” Nuju interjected, “Darkness is the absence of light. It can’t be a living thing.”

“Thanks for the comforting words, scholar,” Onewa’s sarcasm was thicker than ever.

“It is strange, though,” Vakama spoke up, “How is it blocking out our lightstones?”

“We should keep moving. Everyone stay close,” Whenua couldn’t have sounded less concerned. Through the dim light, Matau could see the back of the Toa of Earth continuing forward through the tunnel despite everything.

Matau kept his eyes on the back of Nokama’s head, willing his eyes to adjust to the ever fading light. For a few minutes, there was nothing but the sound of the six Toa Metru’s footsteps. Nokama stopped suddenly, and Matau bumped into her.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Matau asked.

“Nuju’s in front of me now,” she said, “Vakama was there just a second ago. Hey, Vakama? Vakama!”

The Toa of Fire didn’t answer. The tunnel was so dark now that Matau couldn’t even see the lightstone in his hand, or anything else for that matter.

“Where did he go?” Nuju said, “Where did anyone go?”

“I’m right here,” Nokama said.

“I am too,” Matau added, shivering.

“I’m still up front,” Whenua said, sounding a bit further away.

“Okay, Vakama’s gone…” Nuju said, “Wait, where’s Onewa?”

Nokama, Matau and Nuju began calling out for the Toa of Stone, and were met with no answer. Matau felt his pulse pounding louder in his ears. He reached out in front of him, and felt his hand brush against Nokama’s arm. She yelped in surprise.

“It’s okay, it’s me!” Matau reassured her. He reached out again, and clasped her hand.

“Nuju, are you there?” Nokama said, “Grab my hand!”

But neither of them heard any kind of response from the Toa of Ice.

“Oh, Mata Nui,” Nokama said, sounding panicky, “Oh no, no please, Mata Nui…”

“Hey guys,” Whenua said, his voice still a few yards away, “Follow my voice, this way.”

“No, we’re good holding hands back here,” Matau said.

“This isn’t the time for jokes, Matau!” Nokama scolded.

Matau clutched Nokama’s hand all the same. He was completely blind, and though he tried to make light of the situation, there was no way to quell the panic rising within him. Suddenly, he felt the sensation of being pulled back by an invisible force, and his fingers slipped out of Nokama’s.

He reached out, but he was met with empty air. As he drifted away, he could hear Nokama calling out his name.

* * *

“Let’s go,” Whenua said, clasping Nokama’s wrist and pulling her rather forcefully.

“Wait, Whenua! We need to go back!”

“We’re almost through,” he insisted. Nokama found it disconcerting that Whenua didn’t seem the least bit worried about their fellow Toa.

“We need to help them! Something horrible must’ve happened!”

“We’re here.”

The small amount of light in the chamber ahead was enough to blind Nokama for a few seconds. As her eyes adjusted, she could see that the chamber was lit by a few lightstones. She also saw Whenua facing away from her just a few feet ahead.

“What is this place?”

Whenua turned around, giving Nokama a strange crooked smile that had never before appeared on his face. “It’s your final destination.”

Nokama’s words nearly caught in her throat, She backed away a few paces, drawing her hydro blades and crossing them in front of her.

“It’s you,” she said, “You’re the Krahka, aren’t you.”

Whenua’s features seemed to blur and fade, reshaping until the image of Vakama stood before her.

“You are clever, Toa of Water,” the Krahka said in Vakama’s voice, “Too bad you saw the truth far too late.”

“What have you done to the other Toa?” Nokama demanded, standing her ground.

The Krahka shifted appearances again, this time taking on the image of Nokama herself.

“Oh, don’t worry about them,” the shapeshifter said in Nokama’s voice, “They’ll settle into their new home in no time.”

“Tell me where they are!” Nokama thrust her weapons upwards, summoning a wave that rushed towards the Krahka. Unfortunately being in Nokama’s form, the Krahka stopped the wave effortlessly with a flick of her wrist.

“You Toa crossed over into my territory. All invaders must be dealt with,” the Krakha shifted into the form of the rahkshi Nokama had encountered earlier. “I have nothing more to say to you.”

“We meant you no harm!” Nokama insisted, but the Rahi ignored her.

The Krahka began to walk away, and Nokama leapt after her. Before she could reach her opponent, however, three more rahkshi showed up, blocking her path. Nokama dodged each swing of the creatures’ staffs, and leapt backwards, taking a defensive stance once again. She glanced around the chamber once again, and saw no sign of the Krahka.

“Dammit,” she whispered to herself. The three rahkshi began to advance. One raised its staff, and Nokama had barely enough time to react as a blue flash of lightning struck mere inches in front of her.

Nokama panted rapidly. Her mind was in a frenzy, trying desperately to think of a way out of this. As the three rahkshi crept towards her, she felt her grip on her weapons tighten until she was sure the skin on her knuckles would tear open. She planted her feet again, and quickly scanned the room.

The rahkshi were advancing rather cautiously. They’d probably never encountered a Toa down here before. Nokama used the time to pick out some important details about the chamber, a plan slowly taking shape in her mind. There were cracks in the far wall behind the rahkshi; one was leaking water. The water was trickling along the floor, heading straight for the creatures.

Nokama closed her eyes, blocking out everything except for that small stream of water from her mind. She called for it, willed it to rush out of the crack more quickly. She opened her eyes, and all three rahkshi raised their staffs. Nokama watched their every move, and waited for the subtle twitch of their muscles that would indicate an incoming attack.

The three creatures shot lightning from their staffs, and Nokama leapt as high as she could to grab onto a stalactite. The crack in the wall burst open, and water gushed into the chamber with such force that all three rahkshi were blown off their feet. Their lightning buzzed through the water, electrocuting each of them. Spasms racked their bodies until they lay still, twitching and sizzling. Nokama let go of the stalactite, calling forth a small water spiral to slow her fall and soften her landing onto the floor below.

“Not bad for a rookie Toa, huh?” she said to the lifeless bodies.

Okay, she thought to herself, get serious. Time to find the others.

Nokama crept back through the tunnel she and the fake Whenua came through, gripping her lightstone. With a surge of relief, the thick darkness seemed to have dissipated, and she could now see a lot better. Turning a corner, Nokama found three alcoves, each containing the unconscious forms of Vakama, Matau, and Onewa. She shook Vakama awake first, then Onewa and Matau. When Matau’s green eyes flew open, he met Nokama’s relieved gaze and smiled.

“I knew you’d come for me,” he said. Nokama snickered.

“What kind of Toa would I be if I left my teammates to die?”

“Can we move this along, please?” Onewa sounded more tired than angry, “I really want to get out of here.”

“Where are Nuju and Whenua?” Vakama asked. Nokama felt her heart sink.

“The Whenua we were following was the Krahka,” she said, and her three companions all turned to look at her. “I don’t know for how long.”

“The real Whenua could be anywhere,” Matau moaned.

“We can’t just give up,” Vakama said, surprising them all, “Either we escape together, or not at all.”

“Well, well, look who’s the brave leader now!” Onewa snickered, slapping Vakama on the back.

“Let’s go!” Matau said excitedly, drawing his weapons, “Toa-heroes away!”

* * * 

The four Toa Metru wandered the tunnels, still hearing the eerie noises from before when they were all separated. Onewa was growing ever more impatient with each step he took. _This place stinks and I’m sick of it_ , he thought, _Maybe my kanohi would help, if I even knew how to activate it._

Thinking about his powers gave Onewa an idea. He placed his hand on the wall of the tunnel. He did his best to clear his mind, to ignore all the creepy unidentifiable sounds and the footsteps of the other Toa.

“What’re you doing?” Matau asked.

“Shut up,” Onewa snapped, eyes still closed.

He reached out to the rock in the walls, listening to the vibrations that traveled through them. As he listened, he found he could mentally map out the tunnel they were in, and travel through it. It forked up ahead, and split up several times. Onewa checked each path, feeling as though he were zipping through the tunnels like a particle of light. Suddenly he picked something up. Within one of the forked paths, he could hear two faint heartbeats. They were slow and steady, coupled with barely audible breath. They seemed dazed. Onewa had to guess they were the two missing Toa.

“I think I know where they are!” the Toa of Stone exclaimed.

“How?” Vakama asked, but Onewa was already sprinting down the tunnel.

“Less explaining, more rescuing!” Onewa shouted over his shoulder. Not long after he could hear the footfalls of his companions behind him. He lead them through the winding maze, down the path he’d discovered.

When they came to the last turn, Onewa burst into a chamber, in which stood Nuju who, judging by his widened and clouded eyes, didn’t seem to be aware of what was going on.

“Finally! Can someone help me down from here?” Onewa looked up to see the voice belonged to Whenua, who was stuck to the ceiling by some kind of webbing.

“I’m on it!” Matau exclaimed. He leapt into the air and swung one of his aero slicers, slicing up the webbing in one fluid motion. He also created an air pocket for he and the falling Toa of Earth to land safely on the floor.

Meanwhile, Nokama had walked up to the confused Nuju. “Let me try something,” she said, more to herself than her fellow Toa. Onewa watched as Nokama summoned up a small amount of water that swirled around the tips of her fingers. She gently placed her fingers on Nuju’s temples. They glowed blue for about a minute, and as they faded Nuju’s vision seemed to clear. He blinked, taking in his surroundings.

“Are you alright?” Nokama asked him. Nuju groaned, holding his head in his hands.

“What are we all standing here for? Let’s get to that damn leak so we can leave this retched pit,” he said.

“Sounds fine to me!” Matau grinned.

“I have to ask: Whenua, where were you this whole time?” Nokama said, turning to the Toa of Earth.

“The Krahka surprised me in my tunnel after we split up. She took the shape of some strange monster and before I knew it I woke up on the ceiling,” Whenua explained.

“And how did you end up here?” Nokama asked Nuju. The Toa of Ice frowned.

“I have absolutely no idea,” he answered.

“What matters is that we’re together again,” Vakama spoke up. Everyone turned their attention to him. “Let’s get going and fix that leak before the Krahka shows up with any more tricks.”

“And then to the Coliseum we’ll go!” Matau sprung into a backflip, assisted by a blast of wind. When he landed, Onewa slapped him in the back of the head.

“Ow!” Matau cried, whirling on the Toa of Stone, who only grinned.

“Yeah, let’s get moving,” he declared, and all the Toa followed Whenua out of the chamber and back into the tunnels.


	7. Krahka's Rage

Vakama let Whenua take the lead once again. He could sense a renewed determination in his teammates, and it invigorated him as well. He was glad they were all together again, the ragtag group of stubborn matoran in Toa armor they were. The tunnel narrowed again, and they all walked in single file, with Whenua in front, Onewa, Vakama, Nokama, Matau, and Nuju taking the rear. The tunnel narrowed more, and Vakama felt fear prickle on the back of his neck. Whenua stopped. Onewa nearly ran into him, and Vakama did the same. He felt Nokama bump into the back of him.

“Sorry,” Nokama said.

“It’s okay,” Vakama replied, then called up to The Earth Toa, “Hey, why are we stopping?”

“Stand back,” Whenua said, “I need to widen this tunnel a bit.”

Onewa stepped back, and Vakama could see that the tunnel ahead had collapsed, and was clogged with debris. Whenua called upon his elemental powers, and thrust his arms to the side. The debris cleared, morphing back into the tunnel walls, and the tunnel was accessible to them at last.

“Nice,” Onewa said. Whenua turned and smiled at him.

“Alright, let’s keep moving,” Whenua addressed the others, “We’re almost there.”

“He’s right,” Nokama said from behind Vakama, “I can hear water.”

Vakama strode after Whenua and Onewa. For a few minutes, it was eerily silent. Not even the footsteps of the other Toa Metru reached his ears. The thick darkness from before began to fall once again, and when Vakama opened his mouth, no sound escaped his throat. It was just dim enough for him to see his companions around him. He looked back towards Nokama, only to find she wasn’t behind him anymore.

_Nokama?_ He called out with no sound. He turned back to Onewa and Whenua in front of him, who had halted, looking confused. Onewa said something to Vakama, but he couldn’t hear what it was. Panic rising within him, Vakama turned back again, and there was Nokama once again.

“Nokama?” the sound of his voice returning nearly startled him.

“What was that?” Nokama asked, eyes wide.

“We’re so close,” Whenua urged all of them onward, “We can’t fall prey to the Krahka’s trickery anymore.”

“You’re right, Toa of Earth, you simply can’t afford the delay!” Nokama said. Vakama grabbed for his crossbow, only for the Toa of Water to swiftly kick it out of his hands. All the other Toa drew their weapons.

“Where’s Nokama?!” Matau shouted angrily.

The fake Nokama shifted into the image of Matau and grinned a weird crooked grin that didn’t belong on the Air Toa’s face. “I told your little friend that all invaders must be dealt with. And yet all of you just won’t leave!”

Matau sprung forward, swinging his aero slicers. The Krahka shifted into the form of a large lava eel, and slithered away. Matau stumbled a bit on his landing, still gripping his weapons. The Krahka then shifted back to the image of Nokama.

“I almost don’t want you to leave. This is too much fun!” she snarled, hurling a wave of water in Matau’s direction. Nuju jumped in front of him and froze the water with a wave of his ice spike weapon.

“Let’s get out of here!” Nuju yelled. He and Matau leapt over the frozen wave and the Krahka, to join Vakama, Onewa, and Whenua on the other side. All five of them began sprinting down the tunnel.

“What about Nokama?” Matau shouted.

“We can find her later! First we have a rahi problem to deal with!” Whenua said.

They all burst into a rather dark cavern. Each Toa held a lightstone in one hand and their weapon in another. They stood in a defensive circle, each facing outwards. Then they all saw the fake Nokama step into the cavern, her crooked smile lit dimly by the lightstones.

“You surface-dwellers should have stayed up above. This is my domain. You will all be punished,” she hissed, shifting into a monstrous form. It looked like some kind of sea monster with long twisted tentacles that resembled the Morbuzakh vines. The tentacles shot in every direction, and each Toa sliced and dodged what they could.

As Vakama fought, he caught a glimpse of something above their heads. He shot down one tentacle with his crossbow, and took a second to shine his lightstone high above his head. It was the upside down form of Nokama, unconscious, wrapped in webbing up to her neck; the same webbing Whenua was stuck in before.

“She’s above us! Nokama’s above us!” Vakama called out to the others.

“I’m on it!” Matau said, slicing Nokama down and providing her a soft landing on the floor. Vakama beat back more tentacles with firebolts from his crossbow as Matau tugged the webbing off Nokama and gently patting her face to wake her up.

“Wh-what’s going on?” Nokama moaned.

Matau pointed towards the mess of tentacles on the other side of the chamber. “Just that,” he replied.

Nokama sprang to her feet, drawing her hydro blades and joining the fight. With an internal sigh of relief, Vakama continued the fight, trying to aim a firebolt directly at the body of the Krahka monster. One firebolt blasted straight through the tangled tentacles and made a direct hit. The Krahka staggered, her tentacles retracting quickly. Onewa wasted no time tossing a few boulders in her direction, which battered her back a few more paces.

The rahi shifted forms once again, this time as a grotesque mass of limbs and twisted faces. Vakama felt a guttural disgust and horror as he quickly noticed the faces were those of the Toa Metru, grimacing and writhing.

An explosion of every element shot outwards from the Krahka’s body, battering the Toa Metru with fireballs, sharp icicles, stones, and powerful blasts of water. A small hurricane began to form near the ceiling, winds threatening to blow them all away. He was struck by a rock and Vakama felt himself fly backwards and his back slammed into a wall. He slumped to the floor, and through blurred vision he could see cracks opening up in the floor. Up ahead, Nuju nearly toppled into one of the cracks, but a slab of earth from Whenua kept him from falling.

Vakama pushed himself to a stand. He slowly stumbled towards the others, pushing against the raging winds the whole time.

“Everyone!” He shouted over the howling storm, “Counter the elemental attacks!”

Each Toa began to fight back against their own element. Nuju deflected the icicles, Nokama pushed the waves of water away from her teammates, Onewa smashed the flying stones to dust. Meanwhile Whenua was mentally straining to close up the cracks in the floor while Matau did his best to calm the raging winds.

Vakama started absorbing the heat in the room, fizzling out the fireballs and dropping the temperature of the room. The loathsome mass of flesh that was the Krahka began to appear sluggish. Vakama could see out of the corner of his eye that the drop in temperature was starting to affect his fellow Toa as well. Vakama walked towards the Krahka, every one of his limbs shaking from the strain of using this ability. Frost began coating the outside of the fearsome rahi.

“Y-you dirty surface-dwellers,” she shivered, shifting her appearance to that of a lava eel, “You-you n-need to be punished…”

Vakama absorbed more heat, and the lava eel began to weaken. Without warning, he released all the heat into the creature, causing it to swell immensely. The Krahka screeched, shifting rapidly between different forms. It began scurrying away on constantly and grotesquely shifting limbs, but a slab of Earth exploded upwards, blocking the rahi’s path. Vakama turned to see Whenua, shivering but standing his ground.

The Toa of Earth opened up the floor underneath the Krahka. Still morphing in between different forms, she tumbled down the hole with an unearthly shriek. Whenua closed the hole quickly. Vakama placed his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

None of the Toa said a word to each other. After Nokama went around closing up her companions' bleeding wounds with her powers, Whenua led them to the area with the crack in it. With Nokama’s power over water and Whenua’s over earth, they sealed the leak. Whenua led them upwards, back up to the surface of Onu-Metru. Soon light from the entrance enveloped them and with a collective sigh of relief and exhaustion, the Toa Metru began trekking towards the Coliseum once again.

Vakama glanced at his teammates. This didn’t feel like last time, when they beat the Morbuzakh plant. This time it felt as though they barely escaped with their lives. Vakama had never been more terrified in his life than down in those tunnels. Even Nidhiki and his brutish friend taking away Toa Lhikan was less traumatizing. No one cheered over this victory, not even Matau.

No one had to say it, and Vakama knew that he and all the rest of them were thinking it. They would never speak of this day again.


	8. The Initiation

The Toa stood together in a tight group, facing the Great Coliseum. It was a beautiful, glorious, towering structure that rivaled just about every other building in Metru Nui. It’s impossibly high spire pierced the clouds in the sky. From inside, they could all hear the announcements of a game of akilini, the popular Kanoka disk sport.

Vakama took out his Great Disk, examining its surface. He felt an unusual jitter deep within his spine. This was it. Once they stepped into the Coliseum, they will be declared the new guardians of the city. His toolmaking days were over. From now on he would fight terrible monsters to protect the working matoran, put his life on the line every day. He honestly couldn’t tell if he was nervous or excited or a combination of both.

“Should we interrupt the game?” Onewa asked, “Doesn’t seem very Toa-like.”

“Why not? It’ll be a nice fun-surprise for the matoran!” Matau said, holding up his Great Disk.

“We’ve delayed this long,” Nuju said, “We should just do it.”

“Well then, are we all in agreement?” Nokama asked. Each Toa nodded. She turned to Vakama. “It’s your call, Vakama.”

“It’s not my call. If everyone says we should go in, then let’s do it,” Vakama said, heat rushing to his face. He still didn't understand why Nokama wanted him to lead the team.

With that, the Toa Metru walked through the large doors, and into a large corridor with high ceilings. Each held a Great Disk in their hands. Thumping music reverberated through the corridor, filling Vakama’s entire body with its vibrations. He felt another tingle of nervousness on top of it all. The team entered the field, on which a game of akilini was being played. But at the sight of the six new Toa, the matoran players stopped dead in their tracks.

All of the cheering and shouting in the Coliseum faded, replaced by excited whispers. Soon those whispers turned back into cheering once again.

“Toa…are those new Toa?”

“Where did they come from?”

“More Toa?”

“Hey look! We’re getting new Toa!”

All the voices blended together in a swirling, exciting din. Vakama looked up at the crowd, full of thousands of awestruck faces. Above the stadium seating were immense screens, which had switched from the akilini players to the new Toa team. Around him, the other Toa Metru were waving at the matoran, and holding up their Great Disks.

“Hello, Metru Nui!” Matau cheered, holding his Great Disk above his head. He turned to Onewa who was standing next to him. “I’ve always wanted to loud-shout that,” Matau grinned.

Vakama directed his attention towards the Turaga’s box, where Dume himself was seated. The elder was peering at them with a strange glint in his eye. Vakama signaled the others to look up to the Turaga’s box as well.

The elder rose from his seat, gesturing for the crowd to quiet down. Soon the Coliseum was silent. Turaga Dume switched on the microphone in front of him. The stadium screens displayed Dume’s face, and Vakama felt as if the elder were staring into him from every angle.

“Well, well. What do we have here?” The Turaga mused, his eyes passing over each of them to finally rest on Vakama. “Is that you, Vakama?”

Vakama felt hundreds of thousands of eyes upon him, boring holes into him. Turaga Dume didn’t wait for his response. Instead he laughed heartily.

“Matoran one day, Toa the next! No wonder that project hasn’t been completed,” Dume said. Vakama could hear the matoran in the stadium seating all around begin whispering again. Beside him, Nokama boldly stepped forward, holding up her Great Disk. All the others including Vakama did the same.

“We present to you the Great Kanoka Disks, Turaga, and pledge ourselves as the new guardians of Metru Nui!” Nokama’s clear voice rang out in the Coliseum, and the immense crowd of matoran began to cheer excitedly.

Dume gestured for silence again. He chuckled. “Toa must prove themselves with deeds, not simple gifts.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Vakama saw the five other Toa shoot a glare at him, including Nokama. Heat rose to his face.

“Dear friends,” Turaga Dume addressed the matoran, “It seems that after the disappearance of our beloved Toa Lhikan, the Great Spirit has provided us with six new Toa!” The Turaga’s tone was slightly mocking, but crowd erupted in cheers anyway.

“Catch this, fire-spitter!” Onewa snarled, tossing his Great Disk over his shoulder at Vakama’s face. He caught it just barely. Each of the other Toa placed their Great Disks on top of Onewa’s. Nokama was last, and with a disappointed look, she placed her disk on top of the pile in Vakama’s arms. Feeling defeated, Vakama stowed the disks away in the compartment in his back armor.

“Let us have them prove themselves on this field of honor!” Turaga Dume announced. He gestured to the box below him, where three matoran were seated around a control panel. One of them tapped the center of the panel, and pillars rose upwards from the hexagonal floor tiles, surrounding the Toa.

The Coliseum shook violently, and each Toa struggled to stay on their feet. Nokama pointed upward, her shouting barely audible over the shrieking machinery. Vakama looked up and saw a towering wave of pillars rushing towards all of them. He and his fellow Toa began running for their lives.

Off to one side, pillars appeared underneath Onewa, and punched him upwards into the air. The Toa of Stone landed on the ground face first, and was met with uproarious laughter from the matoran crowd. Matau too late realized that pillars had lifted him up high in the air, only to drop down suddenly. The Toa of Air plummeted like a stone and lay stunned on his back for a few minutes. Vakama sprinted harder, the pillars were nearly upon him as well. Soon he felt himself being raised up, then dropped, only to be struck by more rising pillars. When he landed hard on his side, he heard more laughter from the matoran crowd.

This went on for what felt like forever. The Toa were battered and tossed like kohlii balls all over the undulating stadium, landing on the ground again and again too stunned from the humiliation and too weak from the fight underground to defend themselves.

“Enough,” Dume called from the Turaga’s box. Vakama heard the clanking of machinery, and saw the pillars even out and return the floor of the stadium back to normal. His teammates around him groaned and nursed bruises and injuries from the ordeal. Onewa helped Whenua to his feet. Matau leaned on the wall to push himself up. Nokama was having a bit of a coughing fit, and Nuju was kneeling beside her, asking if she was okay. Vakama rubbed his own shoulder, moving around his arm carefully to make sure it wasn’t broken.

With all six Toa back on their feet, Vakama felt his face heat up once again when he realized every matoran in the Coliseum was laughing at them. Some were booing. Everything they worked for…the battles they’d fought…to result in this? Vakama’s face was almost too hot to bear. He looked up at Turaga Dume up in the Turaga’s box, and around at the large displays of his face on the screens. The elder was smiling, an amused glint in his eye. Vakama felt his despair turn quickly to anger.

“Let us praise these jesters,” Dume chuckled, his voice filling the Coliseum, “Perhaps they sought to entertain us during this difficult time in Metru Nui.”

The matoran laughing and jeering continued. Vakama was focused on Dume, feeling his anger rise even more. Even without looking at the other Toa, he knew they must have been feeling the same as him.

“Or, are they imposters?” Dume’s amused tone turned suddenly dark.

“No! We are Toa!” Vakama declared, clenching his fists.

“Responsible for Toa Lhikan’s disappearance?” The Turaga’s voice rose in anger, riling up the crowd. The boos were becoming much louder now.

Vakama saw two figures step up on either side of the elder. He felt his blood freeze in his veins. It was Nidhiki and his one-eyed brutish partner.

“No, it was them! Those two took Toa Lhikan! I saw it myself!” Vakama pointed at the two Dark Hunters, attempting to shout over the angry crowd.

“Arrest them!” Dume commanded. Vakama’s eyes met Nidhiki’s for a split second, and the Dark Hunter’s face split into a maniacal grin. Vakama furrowed his brow and clenched his teeth. From the other side of the stadium, a swarm of Vahki enforcers began to advance on the Toa team.

Vakama saw the matoran at the control panel throw a switch, and the Coliseum shook. The field began to change once again. Pillars toward the center began to sink, and an immense vortex began swirling around them. The wind was strong, and nearby Nuju slipped and flew towards the center of the vortex. Vakama could hear the Toa of Ice scream as he was thrown in a violent circle and sucked into the center of the stadium.

Vakama strained his legs, trying to beat back the wind. Off to his left, he saw Onewa and Whenua doing the same. Onewa stumbled a bit, and the wind yanked him backwards. He collided with Whenua, and they both fell into the vortex as well. Behind him, Nokama had planted herself to the ground with one of her hydro blades. Matau began falling backwards, but he also managed to hang onto the ground with his aero slicers. Vakama felt his feet slip, and he began falling backwards. Before the vortex could pick him up, Nokama grabbed onto his ankle.

The wind howled while the three Toa hung on for dear life. The Vahki were still advancing on them, seemingly unaffected by the vortex. Vakama saw Nokama look up and down the stadium. She glanced up at a large stone statue of Toa Lhikan, and turned to Vakama.

“Can you bring down that statue?” she shouted over the wind. Vakama nodded to her, and with the violent wind still tugging at him, he reached for his crossbow, then took aim for the base of the statue.

Vakama charged up the firebolt as long as he could, before releasing it full blast. The target was hit, and within seconds the Lhikan statue began teetering forward. The matoran in the crowd screamed and gasped in terror. The statue toppled and crushed the advancing Vahki robots. The vortex died down, and not willing to take the opportunity for granted, Nokama, Matau, and Vakama sprang to their feet and sprinted towards the exit. Before leaving, Vakama took one last look back at Turaga Dume on one of the big screens.

The elder didn’t look pleased. Vakama glared at him, then turned to run after Matau and Nokama. His mind raced the whole way. Everyone in the city will probably be after them now. The Vahki will swarm them, and maybe even Nidhiki and his partner would corner them as well. And where did Nuju, Whenua, and Onewa go?

_I hope they’re alive_ , Vakama thought desperately as he ran, _Lhikan said The Great Spirit needs us_.

He and his two companions reached a chute station, abandoned most likely because everyone had gone to the akilini game. They climbed up one of the towers that overlooked the chute, and all three of them panted heavily.

“We need to get out of here fast!” Nokama breathed.

“What about the others?” Matau asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

“We should find somewhere safe to come up with a plan,” Vakama said.

“I agree,” Nokama said, looking down at the chute. It was full of rushing liquid protodermis, designed for the quick and efficient transport of goods and matoran alike. “Come on!” Nokama said. Swiftly, she leaped from the tower, and she entered the chute in a perfect dive.

Vakama stared after her for a second.

“What’re you waiting for?” Matau gave him a hard shove, and panic seized his whole body as Vakama plummeted the intimidating distance towards the chute. He felt himself pass through the surface and got carried away by the current. He opened his eyes, and Matau had landed right next to him. They both grabbed a piece of cargo and rode it with the current. Up ahead, Nokama was practically swimming through the stuff like a fish.

Vakama began to feel a bit less tense as they put more distance between themselves and the Coliseum. His mind went back to Turaga Dume. The elder of the city wasn’t known for his warmth and affection, but he certainly wasn’t callous and sadistic. Vakama had always looked up to him as a wise and fair leader. Therefore he had no way of explaining the treatment he and his team got from Dume. What in the name of Mata Nui was the Turaga thinking?


	9. Imprisonment

Onewa pulled at the steel grate in the low ceiling with all the strength his limbs could offer. It didn’t budge a single inch. When he got tired of pulling, he hung limply from the grate for a few seconds. He dropped to the floor onto his feet. He sighed angrily, staring up at the sunlight streaming into the cell from the outside. Nearby Whenua was pacing in circles and Nuju was sitting on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chest.

Onewa glared at the sky up above, jumped and grabbed the grate again, tugging at the bars even harder than before. He gave one last yank, nearly ripping his own arms out of their sockets. He growled in frustration, and dropped to the floor again. He shuffled his feet on the metal floor. A pile of stones lay near one of the walls of the cell. Onewa kicked them hard, sending them crashing into the metal wall. They didn’t even leave a dent. Onewa levitated one of the stones, shaping it into a spike, and rammed it into the grate on the ceiling. The grate didn’t budge and the stone spike broke off in the center. Onewa let the stone crash to the floor.

“Two weeks ago, all I had to worry about was cataloging,” Whenua sighed, still pacing the floor, “Now I’ll go down in history as Metru Nui’s most wanted.”

Onewa scoffed, “I’m the one suffering here, stuck with a Ko-Matoran big-brain and an Onu-Matoran stock boy.”

Whenua glared at him.

“We’ll never escape,” Nuju groaned, “Our future is hopeless.”

“Yeah, sure, with that attitude,” Onewa said, grabbing the grate again.

“That won’t do any good,” Whenua said from below, “Remember the last ten times you tried?”

Onewa dropped down, and got right up in Whenua’s face, his anger flaring up. “Then what do you suggest we do? Sit and mope like ice-head over there?”

“I’d appreciate it if you called me by name,” Nuju snapped.

“I would if you stopped acting like a whiny matoran and help me find a way out!” Onewa shot back.

“Guys, guys,” Whenua stepped between them, “This won’t help.”

“Then what will, librarian?” Onewa said. Whenua opened his mouth, then quickly closed it again, his eyes dropping to the floor. Onewa turned away from him, grabbing the grate once again and pulling himself up. He latched his feet to the bars and tried slipping one of his hands through one of the openings. It was much too tight a fit, and after a few minutes he had to pull his hand back again. He stared back up at the sky. That one small circle of sky was all he could see.

Onewa dropped down. He sat on the floor, head in his hands. “There’s just…nothing…” he sighed. It was as if he were turned into a helpless matoran again.

“Toa…giving up hope?” An aged voice said.

Onewa jumped, scanning every inch of the cell. There, hiding in a shadowy corner was a small hunched figure. It stood up slowly, then walked towards the three Toa. It stepped into the light from above, revealing a hunched robed figure with a hood that hid his face. He clutched a gold staff in one hand, leaned on it for support.

“A Turaga?” Whenua asked, peering intently at the figure.

“That’s correct,” the figure said, nodding.

“Where did you come from?” Onewa said.

“That is not important right now,” the Turaga said.

“Who are you?” Nuju asked.

“My identity is not important now either,” The Turaga said, “What matters right now is discovering yours.”

“How do you mean?” Whenua asked.

“The Great Spirit gave you elemental powers, as well as additional abilities. These kanohi are the key to your escape.”

“I mean no disrespect, Turaga,” Nuju stood up and approached the hooded figure, “But we’ve been in two major battles already and haven’t discovered those abilities. How could we hope to connect with them now?”

“Never doubt your capabilities as Toa,” the Turaga said, “I can sense the great potential in all of you.”

Whenua, Onewa, and Nuju exchanged skeptical looks.

“It seems you still doubt my words. But rest assured I can provide the guidance you need to escape this cell.”

“I guess we don’t have any other options at the moment,” Nuju muttered. Whenua and Onewa nodded their reluctant agreement.


	10. Hunters and Hunted

Vakama, Matau, and Nokama were still travelling via chute to distance themselves from the Coliseum, as well as the Vahki enforcers and Dark Hunters that would undoubtedly be after them soon. Nokama, still swimming using the power from her hydro blades to propel herself, looked back at her two companions, who were both still clutching at a piece of cargo. She did some math in her head; she figured that they’d be far enough away by now to get off the chute and find somewhere to hide and come up with a strategy to find their captured Toa companions.

Just as Nokama was about to give her companions a signal for them to exit the chute, the protodermis flow halted. Everything came to an abrupt stop. Nokama turned, to an equally confused Vakama and Matau. Before any of them could make a move, the protodermis began flowing in the opposite direction, carrying them along.

Nokama felt a twinge of panic. They were now being forced back towards the Coliseum, where they would inevitably be captured like Onewa, Whenua, and Nuju were. Nokama swam back to Vakama and Matau, who were tossed off the piece of cargo they were riding. Nokama grabbed Vakama’s hand, who then stretched and caught hold of Matau’s ankle. With a swing of one of her hydro blades, Nokama cut through the bottom of the chute, slowing their progress until her weapon caught on one of the chute’s metal braces.

All three Toa hung on, still being tugged by the rapid flow. Nokama craned her neck to check on her Toa companions. Matau was busy trying to slice through the chute with his weapons. A large transport loomed above them, and began to dip down. Nokama tried crying out over the loud rushing of protodermis and the hum of the chute’s magnetic field, but too late, it toppled onto Matau, who was pushed through the chute and out into open air. Vakama followed, and soon Nokama felt herself pass through as well.

Before she knew it, Nokama was dangling from the chute’s brace by one hydro blade, with her other hand holding Vakama, while Vakama was holding onto Matau. All three of them were thousands of feet in the air, far from any major streets or chute stations that she could see. Her breath appeared as a white puff in the air, and she shivered. They must’ve been somewhere near Ko-Metru.

“Is everyone alright?” Nokama called down to her Toa brothers.

“Yep, sure fine!” Matau called back, “Just enjoying the view!”

Nokama felt herself drop a few inches, and panic seized her for a moment. She felt Vakama’s hand tighten its grip on hers.

“I think we’re slipping!” she cried, feeling her hydro blade slide a bit on the brace.

“Can we make it to that tower?” Vakama said, gesturing with his head to a support tower about a hundred feet away from them.

“We’re gonna have to!” Nokama said, and began swinging her body back and forth. Vakama and Matau began doing the same, building up momentum.

Soon they were all swinging in unison, in what had to be a long enough arc.

“Get ready!” Nokama said. She timed it in her mind. They all swung back, and as they swung forward she ripped her hydro blade free from the brace and they all began to fall. As a unit, they flipped around and Nokama managed to catch her hydro blade on the support tower. She breathed a sigh of relief.

A cry from below prompted Nokama to look down. Matau had fallen.

“No! Matau!” Vakama cried, “My hand slipped!”

With a rush of cold air, jovial laughter reach Nokama’s ears. Matau flew upwards towards her and Vakama, supported by a robust wind.

“Gave you a fright, didn’t I?” he teased. Vakama looked upset.

“That wasn’t funny, Matau,” he snapped. Nokama rolled her eyes.

“Let me help you two down!” Matau said, and with a wave of his arm, Nokama and Vakama were swept up off the tower. Matau dropped all three of them, stopping their fall with an air pocket far too soon before they all hit the ground. They all staggered to their feet.

“Don’t do that again,” Nokama scolded the Toa of Air.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly.

“At least we’re all in one piece,” Vakama reasoned, “This looks like a remote spot. Let’s come up with a plan.”

The three Toa rested next to a support tower. Tiny snowflakes began to fall. Matau shivered.

“So, what now?” Matau said.

“The others were sucked into the stadium floor. They’re probably back at the Coliseum,” Nokama suggested. “We’ll have to find a more discreet way back.”

Suddenly, Vakama felt himself slipping away from reality. Not again, he thought desperately.

_He was standing in a white void. He turned, and saw that Toa Lhikan himself was standing next to him. Even though he was a Toa now, Vakama still felt small next to Lhikan. He said Lhikan’s name, reaching out to tap him on the shoulder. Just as his fingertip brushed Lhikan’s armor, Lhikan’s body exploded into light, then imploded and condensed into the form of a star. It shot upwards, into an indigo sky._

_The landscape began to take shape. It looked like Po-Metru. The Lhikan star shot through a canyon, and settled in the sky right above what looked like a long-unused entrance to a cave._

“Vakama!” _a voice called out. It sounded like Nokama…_

“Vakama!” Nokama’s voice jerked his back to reality. Vakama shook his head violently, clearing his head. “Another vision?” Nokama asked.

“I-I think I have an idea of where Lhikan might be,” Vakama said.

“What about our captured Toa-brothers?” Matau interjected.

“We need Lhikan’s help. Who knows what Turaga Dume may be planning for our brothers? For us?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Nokama said, “Dume did act a bit strangely back there, didn’t he?”

Matau grunted, lying on his back and stretching out his arms. “Desperate times, right? He’s probably all mad-paranoid.”

“But why were two Dark Hunters with him?” Vakama asked.

Matau sat up again, “Again, desperate times. No more Toa, less protection for Metru Nui.”

“I suppose Matau has a point,” Nokama said.

Matau grinned, “See, I can be quick-smart like you!”

“Hold on, I think I heard something,” Nokama said, ignoring Matau’s comment. The back of Vakama’s neck tingled, and he scanned the skies above them. He spotted something near the top of a support tower yards away from them.

“We should get out of here,” he said. The other two nodded. Before any of them could react, a beam of red energy blasted the ground about a foot away from them. Vakama’s head snapped up, and he made out a large figure on the support tower. It leapt down, and landed, making the ground shake.

“Toa!” the one-eyed brute called, “We know where you are!”

In a flash, the three Toa Metru unsheathed their weapons and dove out of the way of another blast of red energy. They faced the brute, and Vakama flashed back to when he was still a matoran, watching Lhikan fight. Even after his transformation, Vakama still felt intimidated by the brute’s size. His heavy armor housed some insane musculature, that much he knew.

“Vakama! Behind us!” Matau cried, and Vakama turned to see Nidhiki advancing on them from the other side.

“Remember me?” Nidhiki grinned, a savage glint in his eye.

“How could I forget a face as hideous as that?” Vakama snarled.

Nidhiki only smirked, and opened his mouth. A bolt of green energy shot from it, forcing the Toa to dodge again. “I’d ask you to come quietly, but that would be no fun,” Nidhiki hissed, “Isn’t that right, Krekka?”

“Yeah!” the brute said, “I like fighting Toa!”

“If it’s a fight you want, then you’ll get it!” Nokama shouted. She, Vakama, and Matau called upon their elements.

With fluid strokes of her weapons, Nokama began slinging water at Nidhiki. He ducked and jumped out of the way, with surprising fluidity. Vakama dodged blasts of energy from Krekka’s shoulder-mounted weapon, stopping only to aim his crossbow. He shot a few firebolts, and Krekka dodged them all except the last one. Fire exploded in his face, knocking him back a step. But the brute shrugged it off and kept firing. Vakama kept dodging, until a long blade of air hit Krekka square in the chest, throwing him backwards. The brute landed on his back with a loud crash.

Vakama saw Matau running towards the fallen Krekka, and turned to check on how Nokama was doing against Nidhiki. It seems that she had tired of using her water attacks, and was now locking weapons with the insectoid Dark Hunter. He caught each blow from her hydro blade with his pincer claws, the clash of metal echoing through the area. Nidhiki threw Nokama backwards, and she tumbled across the ground. Vakama used the opportunity to fire his crossbow at Nidhiki.

The Dark Hunter had instinctively blocked his face from the fire blast, singeing his arm. He began to fire his energy bolts from his mouth at Vakama. As Vakama rolled out of the way, he heard a cry from Matau.

He caught a glimpse of Krekka advancing on Matau, who was standing protectively over a dazed Nokama, who was trying to stand herself up. Nidhiki saw what Vakama was looking at, and promptly fired an energy bolt at Matau. It struck him in the center of his back, and Matau twitched and contorted, falling forward onto his face. Green energy webbing sizzled along Matau’s body as he lay struggling against the pain.

Without even bothering to use his crossbow, Vakama blasted Nidhiki with fire. The Dark Hunter, taken by surprise, fell back and dodged the rest of Vakama’s fire. Vakama pumped his already tired legs, rushing to protect the fallen Matau and the still recovering Nokama. Pain exploded in his side and Vakama fell to his knees. Krekka had managed to land an energy blow on him. As the brute stalked towards him, Vakama desperately threw some more fireballs in his direction, but his body was wracked with pain and he collapsed.

As he lay on the hard ground, he saw that Nidhiki had recovered from Vakama’s attack, and he and Krekka were both closing in on them. Suddenly, Vakama saw Nokama spring to her feet, and with a sweeping motion she threw a large ring of water at the two Dark Hunters, both of whom were blown off their feet and sent flying backwards in opposite directions.

Vakama, still in pain, dragged himself across the ground to where Matau was still twitching in agony. He reached out to his Toa companion, and felt the energy crackle on his fingertips. When he touched Matau’s shoulder, the energy web dissipated, and Matau stopped twitching.

“Whew! Thanks a lot, fire-spitter,” he said. The Toa of Air leapt to his feet, and offered his hand to Vakama. Matau helped him up. Vakama could feel the pain in his side slowly fading, and he drew his crossbow once again. Matau did the same with his aero slicers. Nokama brandished her hydro blades as the now recovered Dark Hunters began to advance once again.

Everyone in the area stopped in their tracks when the ground began to shake violently.

“Wha’s going on?” Krekka shouted over the rumble of the earth.

“We don’t have time for this,” Nidhiki hissed.

As the three Toa stumbled, trying to keep their footing on the unstable ground, Vakama saw Nokama pointing to the distance.

“Kikanalo!” Nokama shouted. The snorts and growls from the herd of rahi rhinos reached Vakama’s ears. In the distance, he saw the herd stampeding in their direction, kicking up clouds of dust along the way. The three Toa broke into a run.

They passed the support tower, and Vakama could see Krekka climbing up it.

“Follow me, Nidhiki!” the brute shouted over the stampede.

“No, idiot, get down from there!” Nidhiki shouted back.

The herd was closing in on the three Toa, and Vakama’s legs felt as though they would break under the pressure of sprinting so hard. He heard a loud crash and the creaking of metal, and he craned his neck to see the support tower Krekka was on beginning to fall.

“You dumb bastard!” Nidhiki shouted at Krekka, and dove out of the way as the brute came crashing to the ground along with the support tower. With no support, the chute began to droop a bit in the middle. Vakama pumped his legs faster; there was no telling how long it would be before that chute collapsed on top of them.

The Kikanalo were closing in. They were mere yards behind the Toa. With sweat pouring into his eyes, Vakama willed himself to move even faster. Next to him, Nokama and Matau were doing the same.

“What did you say?” Nokama said suddenly. Vakama and Matau both looked at her as they sprinted.

“I didn’t say anything!” Matau said. Vakama saw a crack in the ground, just large enough for the three of them to hide.

“In there!” he pointed, and he and Matau leapt into the crack, and crouched low, both panting heavily. Vakama poked his head up, seeing with a surge of panic that Nokama had stopped running all together.

“Nokama!” he cried. But the Toa of Water ignored him. She turned to face the advancing herd. She held up her hand in a commanding manner.

“What the hell is she doing?” Matau said, his eyes wide with fear.

Vakama watched to see what would happen. As panicked as he was, he still trusted that Nokama knew what she was doing. She stood her ground, still holding up her hand towards the Kikanalo, who were only a few feet away. The one in the lead quickly skidded to a stop, and the others behind it did the same. The lead Kikanalo halted mere inches from Nokama’s outstretched hand.

Vakama and Matau breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief. Matau clutched his chest.

“That was way too close,” he huffed. Vakama watched the scene play out.

Nokama was leaning in close to the lead Kikanalo, listening to its grunts and snorts. Her blue eyes widened, and she turned in the direction of Vakama and Matau’s hiding place.

“The chief wants to know why we’re trespassing on Kikanalo lands!” she called.

Matau let out a short laugh, “Wait, what?” he said. With a grunt, he hoisted himself out of the crack in the ground, and jogged eagerly to her side. Vakama followed behind him.

Nokama gestured to the lead Kikanalo. “He also wants to know why we’re allied with the Dark Hunters.”

“Tell him we’re not,” Vakama said, “We’re looking for a friend who was taken by the Hunters.”

Nokama leaned in to the lead Kikanalo, placing her hands on its temples. Then the rahi began grunting again, and let out a short roar.

“We are…” Nokama said, squinting her eyes, “Free…to pass. Enemies of the Dark Hunters are…friends to the Kikanalo.”

“Well that’s nice of them to say,” Matau snickered.

Nokama turned back to the Kikanalo chief, who continued its strange animal speech.

“He says…the Dark Hunters have plagued the beauty of the herdlands,” she said.

“Beauty?” Matau laughed, nudging Vakama with his elbow, “Where? And who knew Kikanalo could think-talk? I always thought they were dumb beasts.”

The Kikanalo chief huffed, and Nokama laughed in response.

“Kikanalo think the same of tall matoran,” she giggled.

“Hey, hey, I’m a Toa!” Matau said, grinning.

“Wait, ‘tall matoran’…” Vakama said, “Ask the chief if they saw the Hunters pass through here with a ‘tall matoran’!”

Nokama touched the beast’s temples again, and then listened to its response.

“Yes… he says they take many things to the…place of ‘unending whispers,’” she said.

“That must be where they took Toa Lhikan!” Vakama felt a renewed rush of energy.

“They can show us the way,” Nokama said.

Matau ran his fingers through his red hair. “Woah,” he breathed, “So that’s your kanohi?”

“I guess so,” Nokama mused. She walked around the Kikanalo chief, and climbed up onto the beast’s back. “Come on,” she beckoned, “Let’s get moving.”

Vakama mounted another Kikanalo, quietly whispering thanks to it. Matau picked a Kikanalo as well, and the three began riding with the herd towards Po-Metru.


	11. Training

Onewa snickered at the scene that lay before him. Within their impenetrable metal cell, a mysterious Turaga had appeared, and had ordered Nuju to begin lifting rocks and carrying them from one end of the room to the other, and for Whenua to be blindfolded and try to find his way around the cell without his sight.

“How is this supposed to help me find my kanohi?” Whenua asked, grunting in pain when his foot hit a stray rock. He wobbled slightly, holding his hands out to prevent bumping into anything.

“Do not rely on your memory. Try to look beyond your history and see what is,” the hooded Turaga said.

Whenua paused, heaving a sigh. “I’m not a rahi bat, okay? I can’t see in the dark.” The Toa of Earth started walking forward blindly again, and let out a yelp when he tripped over another rock and fell. Onewa burst out laughing.

“Soon you’ll be ready for a game of pin-the-tail-on-the-ash-bear, record-keeper!” he said as Whenua struggled to his feet.

Onewa turned his attention to Nuju, who was just about to pick up another rock. Raising a finger, Onewa willed the stone to lift slightly as the Toa of Ice picked it up, making it much lighter for him. Nuju strode to the other side of the cell, and just when he was about to place the rock on the pile he’d made, Onewa released his control of the rock and it dropped heavily in Nuju’s arms. Nuju let out a strained cry, and his hands slipped. The rock hit the floor with a crash. Onewa laughed again, and the Toa of Ice shot him the coldest glare of them all.

“You have great concentration, Toa of Stone,” the Turaga said, and Onewa smiled. He opened his mouth to tell him thanks, but the Turaga continued, “The problem lies with where you choose to direct that concentration.”

“Okay?” Onewa said, unsure of how to respond.

“Sit cross-legged,” the Turaga said.

“Why?”

“Do it and then I’ll explain.”

“Fine,” Onewa said, crossing his legs.

“Close your eyes and concentrate. Look beyond yourself to the world outside.”

“If you say so, wise one,” Onewa muttered sarcastically.

But the Toa of Stone did what he was told. He closed his eyes. He allowed for all his other senses to augment. He smelled the dryness of the air outside. He heard Nuju and Whenua’s footsteps. Then his eyes snapped open.

“What’s the point of this?” he asked the hooded Turaga, who turned to him rather sharply.

“You will see, if you are willing,” the Turaga stated. He began walking towards Nuju, who had worked up a sweat lifting those rocks. With a grunt, Nuju stacked another rock on his pile.

“I could toil at this forever, and still learn nothing for the future,” he groaned.

“Today you can learn the building of the tallest tower begins with the placement of a single stone,” the Turaga said.

Onewa let out a snort of disdain. “Build a tower? Not a scholar like him. They’re all too busy with their heads in the stars.”

“I gave you something to do, did I not?” the Turaga said, and Onewa scowled.

“Alright, alright,” he grumbled, closing his eyes again.

Onewa had no idea how long he meditated, but he could feel the seconds ticking away all the same. He reached outwards, trying to pick up all he could from his senses. The scrape of stone on metal as Nuju lifted another stone from the floor. The hesitant, shuffling footsteps of the blindfolded Whenua. The subtle swishing of the fabric of the Turaga’s robes.

Onewa was just beginning to feel something. Something like a heightened awareness that he couldn’t explain. But it all seemed to shatter when a disoriented Whenua suddenly tumbled over him. Onewa opened his eyes and pushed Whenua off him. The Toa of Earth let out an angry snarl, ripping off the blindfold and throwing it on the floor.

“That was a complete waste of time!” Whenua raged. Onewa stood up, and took a step away from him. The Turaga approached the angry Toa.

“Without self-discovery you’ll never find your destiny,” the Turaga tapped Whenua’s chest armor with his staff, “This is every Toa’s duty to the Great Spirit.”

“This whole thing was a load of ‘duty’ if you ask me,” Whenua muttered.

“Sit down, Whenua,” Onewa said, that strange sensation coming over him again.

Whenua whirled on him, eyes flashing with anger. “Taking orders from a Turaga is one thing, but from an over-grown hammer-swinger…!” The Toa of Earth lunged at Onewa.

_Sit down_.

Whenua seemed to back off for a second, but pushed forward to grab Onewa by the throat.

_Sit down. Sit down now!_

With great resistance, Whenua finally dropped to the ground behind first. Onewa marveled at what just happened. He made Whenua sit down! The Toa of Earth did not look pleased.

“That’s it,” Whenua growled, “You’re history, builder! Even if I don’t know how you did that!”

Whenua stood up again, going for Onewa one last time.

“Stop!” Nuju said from the other side of the cell. The Toa of Ice stared hard at the cell wall, and suddenly the metal seemed to pull itself free. Chunks of the cell wall floated across the room, and hovered together in a pillar of crumpled metal.

“How did you do that?” Whenua asked in awe. Nuju gasped and he stepped back from the pillar he’d created. His concentration broken, the metal chunks of the cell crashed to the floor.

Onewa followed the gaze of his fellow Toa to the hole in the cell wall. Beyond it was darkness, but the hooded Turaga stepped towards it. He turned towards the Toa.

“I believe it is time to depart,” the old man chuckled.


	12. Chase

Vakama and Nokama rode their Kikanalo side by side, with the herd following close behind. Matau had stood up on his Kikanalo, and was whooping with delight. Vakama was no animal expert, but he thought the beast looked rather annoyed with its rowdy rider.

“Only a great Toa-rider could tame a wild Kikanalo beast!” Matau declared. The rahi promptly bucked, and Matau landed on the rocky ground with a loud _thud_. Nokama burst out laughing, and Vakama even couldn’t help cracking a smile. Nokama touched the top of the Kikanalo chief’s head—a silent communication—and the beast halted patiently to allow her to climb off its back.

“Are you alright, Matau?” she called to the Toa of Air, who lay groaning on his back. In following the example of their chief, the Kikanalo herd came to a stop. Some of the beasts sat on the ground to rest. Vakama took the opportunity to get off his own Kikanalo and stretch his legs.

He reached into the back compartment of his armor and pulled out the stack of six Great Disks. He remembered the project he was assigned by Turaga Dume. The elder had told him that he was to construct something called the Vahi, a totem that could control time. He could probably make it work now that he had Great Disks, but Vakama resolved to never hand it over to Dume; his trust in the old man had been shaken, to say the least.

_After all_ , he thought, _It’ll probably be good for time to be on the Toa’s side._

He fiddled with the disks, tapping two of them together, trying to figure out which one could become the Vahi. Vakama shook the Disks, and saw that they both began to glow. He brought the two together, and they merged into one. He breathed an awed sigh. He picked up another disk and did the same thing. Soon all six were merged, and he examined his handiwork.

_I may be a Toa, but I still have a toolmaker’s instincts_ , he mused.

“Vakama, we should get going,” Nokama’s voice brought Vakama out of his thoughts. He climbed back onto his Kikanalo. Nokama and Matau did the same, and the herd continued across the plains again. Vakama noticed that Matau didn’t dare stand up on his Kikanalo’s back again. Soon they reached the outskirts of Po-Metru, nearby the place Vakama had seen in his vision.

A rocky mountainside loomed above them, and a dry breeze kicked up small sand twisters on the ground. The herd came to a halt again, right before a sheer cliff. The three Toa dismounted, and got down on the ground to look over the edge. Vakama’s breath caught in his throat as he saw the entrance to the cave in his vision.

“That’s got to be where Toa Lhikan is,” he stated.

“Yeah, too bad about those,” Matau said, pointing far below to where hundreds of Vahki were stationed on the ground.

“Mata Nui,” Nokama groaned, “How do we get down there?”

“I have an idea,” Vakama said.

* * *

With an entire Kikanalo herd on hand, Nokama was sure Vakama’s plan would work. They had surrounded the entire area around the Vahki. All she had to do was lead a good amount of the robotic enforcers after her.

She heard the Kikanalo express unease, and she gently patted him on the side of his head.

_Don’t worry_ , she mentally communicated to him, _Follow my lead. It’ll work!_

Reasonably reassured, the Kikanalo chief broke into a gallop while Nokama held on as tight as she could. The tremors from the chief’s footfalls were bringing all nearby Vahki to high alert, and all their cold, blue, glowing eyes swiveled towards Nokama and the great beast.

“Hey, Vahki! Remember me?” Nokama called tauntingly. All the pairs of glowing blue eyes turned red in an instant, and each Vahki unit shifted into attack mode. They all shot forward, and the Kikanalo chief swiveled in the opposite direction and began barreling away, with Nokama still clinging to his back.

It didn’t take long for them to reach another cliff, and the beast skidded to a stop right before the edge. They waited. Nokama could see countless Vahki advancing at top speed towards them. The Kikanalo chief let out a grunt. _Any minute now_ , was what he said. Nokama tensed. The Vahki were close, and showing no signs of decelerating. She gave a worried glance at the chief, but much to her relief the beast tensed his muscles and just as the Vahki were upon them he leapt high into the air, over the advancing robots.

Unable to hit their brakes on time, dozens of Vahki skidded and collided with one another until eventually tumbling over the edge of the cliff. Nokama could hear their robotic bodies explode on the hard rocks below.

“Alright, this area is clear!” Nokama said to herself, satisfied. She leaned down to the Kikanalo chief’s ear, and sent a mental message to him to send out a signal for Vakama and Matau. The chief drew in a massive breath and bellowed with all his might, while Nokama pressed her hands over her ears.

* * *

Vakama was cornered, just as he planned it. He and his Kikanalo were backed against a wall, facing an army of Vahki. Just as the robotic enforcers were pointing their weapons at him and charging up their energy bolts, a roar vibrated in the air. The chief’s signal!

Perfect, Vakama thought, a twinge of excitement travelling up his spine.

On the signal, several more Kikanalo popped out from behind boulders and stone outcroppings in the area and charged at the Vahki. The robots barely had time to react before they were trampled to pieces by the beasts. Sparks flew everywhere and for a few minutes all Vakama could hear was the crunching of metal.

When it was over, not one Vahki unit was left standing. Vakama smiled, then waved his hands in the air at his Kikanalo. They all let out triumphant roars of their own, a signal for Matau.

_All that’s left is for Matau to do his part and we can get in that cave_ , Vakama thought.

* * *

Matau whooped at the sound of Vakama’s signal.

“Alright, boys and girls!” He declared to the small group of Kikanalo under his command, “Let’s get this party started!”

  
They were all positioned above a small canyon where the rest of the Vahki were standing guard in front of the cave. The Vahki were scanning the area rapidly, no doubt noticing the commotion Matau and his companions were causing. Matau clung to the back of his Kikanalo as it dove down the sheer slope, with its companions all doing the same. They barreled down onto the Vahki squadron, trampling any in their way. Some Vahki began to fire their energy beams at the advancing beasts and at Matau, but the Kikanalos’ tough hides were enough for them to shrug off each strike. Matau deflected beams with his aero slicers, and some beams ended up hitting other Vahki, causing them to shut down. After the chaos of metal and sparks was over, Matau threw his arms up in the air.

“Hey, Kikanalo! We make a great team, don’t we!” he said to his beast mount. The rahi grunted in response. “I’ll take that as a yes!” Matau laughed. His celebration was short-lived when a web of crackling green energy whistled past his ear and struck the ground in front of him. Startled, the other Kikanalo scattered and his Kikanalo bucked him off his back. Matau crashed onto the rocky ground.

Dazed, he looked up at his attacker, and after a few seconds his vision cleared and he could see the unsettling insectoid face of Nidhiki and the brutish grin of his companion Krekka.

“Oh great, who invited you guys?” Matau said, leaping to his feet and narrowly avoiding a red energy blast from Krekka’s shoulder mount. The two Dark Hunters began a relentless assault, and Matau scrambled onto his Kikanalo’s back. He patted the beast’s neck.

“Come on, buddy, let’s get back to the others!”

With a snort, the beast began crashing its way back up the cliff, while Matau sat on its back facing the other way to use his aero slicers to deflect the Dark Hunters’ energy blasts. They both reached the top and the Kikanalo started sprinting, shaking up the ground. Matau swung one of his slicers, and the red energy that bounced off hit a large rock formation to their right, and it began toppling towards them. Luckily the Kikanalo was faster than the falling rock, and it crashed to the ground right behind them. Matau looked up to see that Nidhiki and Krekka were in hot pursuit.

“How can you freaks run so fast?” He called out to them. The Dark Hunters responded by shooting more energy blasts in his direction. The ground dipped down into another canyon, and the Kikanalo slid down the rocky slope with ease. Matau felt his adrenaline pumping hard in his veins, and it made him crack a smile.

“This is what being a Toa-hero is all about!” he cried, deflecting another energy blast with his aero slicer. It didn’t take long for him to lose sight of Nidhiki and Krekka, and his Kikanalo began to slow its pace. It came to a stop, and Matau dropped to the ground from its back. The rahi was breathing hard, and he patted its flank.

“Great job, buddy,” he said encouragingly, “You can take a rest-break.”

Matau took a moment to take in his surroundings. There were several large rock formations jutting upwards towards the sky. The wind was beginning to pick up, blowing dust everywhere. Matau gently nudged the Kikanalo with his hand.

“Let’s find some shelter. Plus, there’s no telling when the bug-man and his friend will find us again,” he said. He and his rahi companion took shelter behind the rock formations, and sure enough Matau could see the figures of Nidhiki and Krekka in the distance. He patted the Kikanalo’s flank again.

“Go meet up with the others, I’ll catch up,” he whispered. The beast grunted in response and crept away. Matau felt something strange within him, like he knew exactly what he had to do. Two Dark Hunters against one Toa didn’t intimidate him, and he couldn’t explain why.

He waited until the two Dark Hunters reached the rock formation Matau was hiding behind.

“We’ll split up here,” Nidhiki hissed at Krekka, “Circle left.” Nidhiki’s four legs began scraping to the right. Krekka paused for a second, glanced to each side, then began lumbering toward Matau’s hiding spot.

Matau tried to suppress a giggle, as he snuck away from Krekka, and felt a strange sensation travelling throughout his body. He felt his body morph and shape into something else. He looked down at himself, seeing strange armor, four insectoid legs, and a pair of large pincer claws. Grinning to himself, he strode forward, running deliberately into Krekka.

“Nidhiki?” Krekka said, clearly surprised, “Where’d the Toa go?”

Matau spoke in Nidhiki’s voice. “You must have let him slip past. Circle the other way back.” Krekka stared at him for a few long seconds before turning around and walking the other way around the rock formation. Still trying not to snicker, Matau heard the real Nidhiki’s footstep drawing near, so he shifted his body again.

Soon he stood several feet taller and sported massive muscles. Nidhiki caught sight of him, and stalked towards him, face twisted with annoyance.

“Where’s the Toa?” he demanded, swiping at the fake Krekka with one of his pincers, “You let him get away, you idiot!”

Matau then spoke in Krekka’s thunderous bellow, “Maybe he sneaked past!”

Nidhiki sighed angrily and stalked away in the other direction.

Matau shifted back to his own form, and before slipping away he decided to stay to listen to what would happen. Sure enough, he heard the sound of armor crashing against armor, scuffling footsteps in the dusty ground, and snarls of frustration.

“Let go, you dumb bastard!” Nidhiki snapped. Matau heard the Dark Hunter strike his companion.

“Where’s the Toa!?” Krekka demanded.

“You should have had him, you thick-skulled moron! I told you to go _that_ way!”

“You told me to go the _other_ way!”

Matau felt laughter threatening to burst from his mouth, so he suppressed it and began to run. The voices of the arguing bounty hunters faded away in the distance, and Matau grinned as he sprinted back to where the others would be waiting for him.

_Some kanohi are worth the wait!_ He thought happily.


	13. Reunion

Whenua stepped into the darkness that lay beyond their cell, right behind the mysterious Turaga. Onewa followed close behind. Only Nuju hesitated.

“All that’s ahead is shadow,” he said, a hint of unease in his voice.

Whenua smiled, “Hey, it’s gotta be better than what’s behind us, right?”

He took a step after the Turaga, who soon was swallowed by the blackness. But something came over Whenua, a feeling he couldn’t explain. It was like elation, pure concentrated confidence. He blinked, and suddenly the whole dark tunnel was illuminated by a silvery light.

“Whoa, guys,” he gasped.

“What, what’s wrong?” Onewa asked. Whenua turned to look at Onewa. But the Toa of Stone wasn’t looking directly at him, in fact his eyes darted around like he was still shrouded in darkness.

“You can’t see anything?” Whenua said.

Onewa snorted, “What do you think, smartass?”

“It’s darker than a rahkshi’s soul in here,” Nuju added. Whenua glanced over at the mysterious Turaga, who was waiting patiently.

“Ah!” Whenua exclaimed, “It’s my kanohi!”

“Yes, you’ve found it at last,” the Turaga said, “Well done, Whenua.”

“Follow my voice, guys!” Whenua said, excitement invigorating him, “Our future just got a whole lot brighter!”

His companions stuck close behind him as Whenua lead them through the winding tunnels. This area was less familiar to him, but he found that he could also look through the walls surrounding them. Soon he found a path that he knew would lead them out. Even as he lead, Whenua still took a few moments to marvel at his new ability, the way he could see everything—every crack and every detail of the textured earthy walls—in silvery light was downright enchanting.

_It would have been nice to have this ability when we were down in the sub-levels of the Archives_ , he thought, half amused.

The sound of scuttling caught Whenua’s attention and he quietly told his companions to stop. He waited as the sound got closer, and he could hear Onewa and Nuju’s breaths quicken. He fought to stay calm as he scanned the area with his new eyes.

Something ran into him, knocking him to the ground. With his ability, Whenua quickly saw that it was a lone Vahki enforcer, and he felt his heart sink. It had him pinned, and he could barely struggle against its grip.

Before he could cry out to his companions, Whenua heard a familiar voice come out of the robot.

“Scared you, didn’t I?”

“Matau?!” Whenua said. In his silvery vision, he saw the Vahki melt away and morph into the form of none other than the Toa of Air.

“That’s _Toa_ Matau to you, Whenua!”

Off to the right, Whenua saw a flicker of light. His night vision faded away, and soon the tunnel was lit by a small flame that Vakama held in his hand. He was side by side Nokama, who shook her head amusedly at Matau.

“Shapeshifting?” Whenua asked as Matau helped him to his feet.

“Yep!” Matau grinned, “And you should see Nokama translating Kikanalo!”

The other Toa whispered in awe, with Nuju mentioning Onewa’s mind control ability and Onewa mentioning Nuju’s telekinesis.

“So, we’ve all discovered our kanohi!” Whenua said, but quickly regretted it when he caught a glimpse of Vakama’s face falling. He decided not to bring it up to the others.

“How did you know we’d be here?” Nuju asked.

“We didn’t,” Nokama replied, “We came for Toa Lhikan.”

“He’s not here,” Onewa shrugged.

The Turaga chuckled and stepped forward. “Well, not exactly,” the old man said, removing his hood.

The Toa gasped collectively. Before them was a face they all knew, but old and weathered; hair that was once golden had faded to grey.

“T-Toa Lhikan?” Vakama said.

“No, Vakama,” the Turaga said kindly, “You are Toa. I am _Turaga_ Lhikan.”

There was a moment of stunned silence. Whenua decided to break it.

“Why didn’t you tell us who you were?” he asked.

“Your task was to discover who _you_ are,” Turaga Lhikan said, “Only with such knowledge would your powers reveal themselves.”

“Quick-stop,” Matau interrupted, “where did _your_ power go?”

“It lives on in all of you,” Lhikan said. He directed his attention to Vakama. “Tell me,” the old man said, “Is the heart of Metru Nui safe?”

Vakama felt his relief give way to anxiety. “Well…we’re rescuing you right now…”

Lhikan’s hopeful expression faded from his wrinkled face. He sighed sadly. “You are so misguided,” he said. His tone was kind, but his words cut deep. “I’m not Metru Nui’s heart; the matoran are.”

Vakama felt all the other Toa’s eyes on him. Shame washed over him like a wave of lava. He felt as if there was a lump of metal stuck in his chest.

“Then I failed you,” he said, “I just wasted everyone’s time…” he turned to walk away, with his teammates looking on, unsure of what to do.

Nokama took a step after Vakama, reaching a hand out to her friend.

“Vakama—“ she began, but Lhikan put a hand on her arm.

“—no,” the old man said, “We cannot help Vakama. He must learn to believe in himself.”

Nokama was saddened by Lhikan’s words, but she knew he was right. She sighed and watched Vakama walking away. Suddenly he stopped, and stared at the tunnel wall. Nokama squinted, trying to make out what Vakama saw from the dim flicker of his flame. She began walking after him, and she heard the other Toa begin to follow her.

As she and the others approached Vakama, Nokama made out a large spherical shape coming out of the wall. Vakama stared at it for another moment, seemingly unaware of the other Toa around him. He placed a hand on the sphere, and stepped back in surprise when a section of the contraption slid open. He held his flame up, revealing what was inside.

Nokama felt her heart skip when she finally saw it. It was Turaga Dume, suspended in a deep sleep.

“T-Turaga Dume…?” Vakama gasped. The other Toa were in a stunned silence. Turaga Lhikan stepped forward, his expression grave.

“The true Turaga Dume,” the old man said, “Just as I feared.”

“What—what does this—,“ Vakama couldn’t even form a complete sentence, and Nokama couldn’t blame him.

“An imposter is posing as a face we all trust,” Lhikan said, gripping his golden staff with both hands.

“If this is Turaga Dume, then who…?” Onewa said.

“I’m not sure we’ll want to know who is really in control of Metru Nui,” Lhikan stated, looking troubled.

Before Nokama could ask Lhikan one of the hundreds of questions running through her mind, the tunnel began to shake slightly. The metallic scraping of a large Vahki patrol reached her ears. She and her Toa companions all tensed up.

“Vahki!” Matau cried, “Run now, talk later!”

They all broke into a run, not before Whenua allowed Turaga Lhikan to climb onto his back and Nuju lifted the spherical canister that held the sleeping Turaga Dume with his telekinesis. The six Toa and one Turaga made their way out of the tunnels, but didn’t stop when they reached open air.

“Over here! Climb aboard!” Matau shouted, and Nokama glanced in his direction. The Air Toa had found a large Po-Metru transport vehicle. They all climbed into the back. Nuju deposited Turaga Dume’s sphere in a corner, and Matau clambered into the driver’s seat.

“Do you know how to drive this thing?” Nokama shouted at him over the noise of the Vahki.

“Of course! This is matoran’s play!” Matau said, cranking a lever and jamming his foot onto the gas pedal. He gripped the steering handlebars of the vehicle as it roared to life and lurched forward, causing everyone on board to pitch backwards.

As they sped away from the cave, Nokama saw some Vahki beginning to emerge from the tunnel.

“Whenua!” She called to the back of the vehicle, “Can you slow them down?”

Whenua nodded his understanding, and called up a large slab of earth that blocked the tunnel entrance. A few Vahki slipped past, but Nuju blasted them with ice, freezing them in their tracks.

“Great! That’ll buy us some time!” Nokama said, turning her attention back to the driver’s seat.

Matau was still pushing the vehicle as hard as he could. He was gripping the steering handles so hard his knuckles were white. He turned back momentarily to flash a grin at Nokama. For a moment his eyes had a wistful spark in them.

“Nokama, I can see us taking a romantic ride-drive,” he mused aloud. Just then, the vehicle hit a large bump, and just as Nokama found a handle on the vehicle’s ceiling to grip onto, the vehicle caught some air before crashing back to the ground. She managed to let out a short laugh.

“And you believe _Vakama_ has odd visions?!” she said.


	14. A Dark Lord

“So, you say the matoran are the heart of Metru Nui. And we need to save them. What exactly does that entail?” Nuju conversed with the old Turaga, all while clinging to the inside of the vehicle, which hit far too many bumps to make the ride comfortable. Onewa, Whenua, and Vakama were listening as well. Matau was driving, and Nokama sat next to him in the front, possibly to make sure he didn’t kill them all.

“I’ll admit I’m not so sure,” Lhikan admitted. Nuju waited patiently for the Turaga to continue explaining. But the old man’s eyes closed and he gripped his staff as though he were weighed down by something heavy.

“That’s all?” Nuju asked, feeling a slight prick of annoyance.

“Unrest has been growing in Metru Nui for years. Ever since the Toa/Dark Hunter War nothing had felt right to me,” Lhikan continued, opening his eyes and gazing at the gathered Toa.

“I remember reading about that war,” Whenua said gravely, “That’s what took out most of the city’s Toa. I wish I could remember more about it.”

“Believe me, it is a time I wish I could not remember,” Lhikan said, “but since then I had feared something had happened to Dume, but I couldn’t prove anything. I and my few remaining companions started getting hundreds of reports of matoran going missing. The Dark Hunters continued hunting bounties in the city, with no regulations for their actions. It was only when I was the last Toa left in Metru Nui that I realized I needed to pass on my power to a new team of protectors.”

Lhikan sighed, looking weary in more ways than one. But he raised his head and smiled.

“The future is uncertain, but always remember that I chose you six for a reason. Never lose sight of that fact.”

The four Toa didn’t know what to say. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air for a few minutes. Nuju noticed Vakama staring at the floor, eyes full of worry. Then the Toa of Fire looked up and opened his mouth to say something. Before he could make a sound, the vehicle lurched violently, and the four Toa and the Turaga were thrown to one side.

Nuju’s annoyance flared up again, and he clambered to the front of the vehicle.

“Can you _try_ driving less like a—,“ the words stopped in his throat, and Nuju felt his heart sink at the sight of a large squad of Vahki surrounding them on all sides.

Matau grunted, yanking the vehicle’s handlebars to the other side. The vehicle pitched again, narrowly avoiding an energy blast from a Vahki.

“Sorry, what was that? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of me _saving our lives!_ ” Matau snapped over his shoulder. Nuju rolled his eyes.

“We need to lose these guys and find a way back to the Coliseum,” Nokama said from the passenger’s seat, keeping a calm demeanor even though her knuckles were bone-white on the arm rests of her chair.

Nuju withdrew to the back of the vehicle where the other Toa and Lhikan still sat wondering what the commotion was. Nuju stood before them, unsheathing his ice spikes.

“It’s time for another fight,” he announced.

While Matau yanked and pushed the handlebars in every direction, he tried his best to focus on the route he was taking all while complete mayhem erupted around him. The other five Toa were blasting at the pursuing Vahki with their elemental energies through the windows in the back of the transport. Two Vahki tried to hook onto the outside of the transport with their weapons, and Matau jammed the handlebars to the side, swerving to the left to avoid them. Unfortunately, that led the transport straight into a cluster of five or six more Vahki. As he slammed on the brakes and swerved to the other side, he saw Nokama stand up out of the corner of his eye and sling a large ribbon of water at the robots. They were blasted backwards. Matau whooped.

“Nice shot, Nokama!” he said, turning to give her a smile. Instead of returning the smile, Nokama’s eyes widened.

“Matau, watch out!”

From seemingly nowhere three Vahki energy bolts cracked the windshield and Matau spun the vehicle around, drastically changing their direction.

“Now we’re going the wrong way!” Nokama shouted over the sound of more Vahki running after the transport. Matau could see blasts of fire, ice, earth, and stone taking out the robots left and right.

“We’re taking a shortcut!” Matau corrected her. He took a sharp turn onto steep incline, which led up a thin and precarious mountain range. Hopefully this’ll mean less room for the Vahki, he thought to himself.

Sure enough, the Vahki numbers dwindled. The robots struggled on the sharp inclines of the mountainsides, and many of them slid down the slopes and tumbled off cliffs. The last few Vahki were taken out by stones thrown by Onewa from the back of the transport.

At last the Toa had some time to breathe. Matau’s hands were beginning to cramp up so he loosened his grip on the handles. He slowed the vehicle down a bit, and focused on getting them back on smoother terrain.

The transport made to back onto a road that led to The Coliseum. Matau pressed a button that rolled down the windows on the sides of the transport. He took a moment to listen.

“What…?” he started, but for some reason he couldn’t finish the question. He felt a strange chill in the center of his chest.

Nokama whispered, “It’s far too quiet,” confirming what Matau had trouble expressing. Matau saw her stick her head out her window, looking behind the transport. “Where is everyone?”

Matau didn’t answer. He was starting to feel the chill travel throughout his body. Dark grey clouds were gathering in the sky, and the wind began to pick up. For a while the only sound he could hear was the howling wind. He gripped the steering handles tighter, and his fingers screamed in protest.

They finally arrived at the entrance of the Coliseum. Matau parked the transport, and he and the other five Toa and one Turaga sat and listened. It was still silent. Suddenly Vakama let out a cry of distress from the back of the transport.

_Vakama was carried away once again into a vision. This time he was floating in a white void, facing a wall of large spheres, like the one that held the comatose Turaga Dume. There was a thumping sound echoing all around him._

_He turned to look around him, but there was nothing else to see but the wall of spheres in front of him. The thumping sound grew louder, and he was unsure if it was his own heartbeat or someone else’s. The silver sphere right in front of him opened with a hiss. Inside was a matoran, possibly from Ta-Metru._

_Vakama reached his hand out to the sleeping matoran, all the while the heartbeat sound quickened and got louder until it was the only sound he could hear. His fingertip lightly brushed the matoran’s shoulder and he jerked awake, eyes blazing red._

_A deep, dark voice filled his mind. It was cold and otherworldly, like nothing he’d ever heard in his life._

_“Vakama…” it breathed._

Vakama was thrust back into the real world, and he let out a distressed gasp. He was coated in a cold sweat and his heart was pounding. The other five Toa and Lhikan were all staring at him with concern. He looked up at them, meeting each of their eyes.

“The…matoran…” he rasped, his throat dry.

“What? What did you see?” Nokama asked.

“They—they’re in danger…someone is trapping them in sleep…like Dume was…” he breathed hard, wiping sweat from his forehead. He snapped his head up, looking out a window on the side of the transport vehicle. He saw the Coliseum’s massive spire. Without saying another word, he leaped out the back of the transport and began sprinting to the entrance.

“Hold up, fire-spitter!” he heard Matau calling after him. But he didn’t stop. He ran through the entryway, down the high-ceilinged hallway, and emerged on the great field. All the stadium seats were empty. Across the way, he saw another transport vehicle disappear behind a large stone door. He began running towards it, but the face of the false Turaga Dume appeared on the stadium screens, all peering down at him.

“Oh, Vakama,” the false Dume said rather pleasantly, “What brings you here?”

Vakama looked up to the Turaga’s box, where the old man stood with a smirk on his wrinkled face. Vakama clenched his fists, anger rising.

“What have you done to the matoran?” he demanded. Dume’s expression didn’t change.

“Even if I told you, you’re too late to do anything about it,” the old man grinned.

Vakama heard the footsteps of the other Toa, and they all appeared at his side, and they all looked up at the false Dume with the same kind of anger he felt. Lhikan gently pushed past him, and stepped ahead a few feet, looking up as well. Dume looked down at the Turaga, chuckling.

“Ah, so nice of you to join us, Lhikan. The matoran were so worried about you,” Dume grinned again, with a grin that was far too wide for his face.

“I knew something was wrong in this city,” Lhikan shouted up at him, gripping his golden staff hard, “And it has something to do with you. Who are you really?”

The false Dume held his grin for a second before letting out a rather sinister laugh.

“Show yourself!” Lhikan shouted, “Show us who you truly are!”

The Turaga’s body split and expanded, then morphed itself into a dark towering figure. Vakama stopped breathing for a solid minute as the being above them all coalesced and stood up to his full height. He was far taller than even Krekka, with wintery pale skin and spiked jet black hair with reddish tips. He wore dark armor and a fluttering black cape, and he had blazing red eyes, like the eyes of a mad god and a mad beast. He grinned that wide menacing grin with shockingly white pointed teeth.

“Happy? Now you see my true form,” the figure said. He held out his hands, as if to beckon a crowd to begin cheering. Vakama’s blood froze in his veins. That voice was the same as the one in his vision.

“Are you really…?” Lhikan gasped.

“Yes,” the massive figure said, his cold, deep voice said, “I am Makuta.”

“M-makuta…?” Matau breathed, shivering.

“So the legends are true,” Lhikan whispered, “Mata Nui had a brother.”

“I have no brother,” Makuta snarled, his expression darkening, “Not in _him_.”

“Were you not sworn to protect the matoran?” Lhikan shouted up at him.

“I shall. Worry not, you puny creatures,” Makuta’s nasty smile returned, “When they awaken, I will be their great leader.”

Vakama felt anger rise up his throat. He stepped past Lhikan, staring right into Makuta’s blazing red eyes. “Deceit and self-interest will never be virtues the matoran honor!” he shouted, his own voice surprising himself with its strength.

Makuta burst out in maniacal laughter. “How very bold, Vakama,” he snickered. He threw his arms up. “Now, even the Great Spirit will soon sleep!” The grey clouds overhead darkened, and lighting cracked the sky. The wind picked up, buffeting the Toa and Turaga Lhikan. The Turaga’s box began to rise up the main spire of the Coliseum on its mechanical pulley system, carrying Makuta with it. His cold laughter echoed in the stormy sky, mingling with a clap of thunder.

Rain began pelting down, and the wind got stronger. Vakama and the other Toa began sprinting towards the exit, hoping to reach their transport vehicle. But they were blocked by none other than Nidhiki and Krekka.

“Going somewhere, great heroes?” Nidhiki snarled, a grin rivaling Makuta’s splitting his face.

“They’re goin’ nowhere!” Krekka added, charging up his shoulder-mounted launcher.

Nidhiki’s gaze fell on Lhikan, and he burst out laughing.

“Brother, is that you?” he cried, grinning from ear to ear. Lhikan held his staff in front of himself, peering at the Dark Hunter with pure disgust on his weathered face.

“I thought I’ve told you before,” Lhikan snarled, as Vakama flashed back to when the two were fighting in his forge, “You have no right to call me that.”

“Oh, but are you going to disregard all the good times we had?” Nidhiki said, his tone mocking.

“The good times are far in the past, and that is where they will remain,” Lhikan spat. Vakama wondered what the story was with those two, but he knew his questions had to wait for another time.

“We don’t have time for this! We need to get out of here!” Vakama shouted over the pounding rain and thunder. Nidhiki opened his mouth, charging up an energy web. As he spat, Nuju swiftly yanked Lhikan out of the way, riding on an ice slide he created.

“Everyone, go!” Nuju yelled, the Turaga under his arm. All six of them sprinted towards the Coliseum exit.

Vakama ducked as a red energy blast from Krekka sizzled over his head and struck the ground. He pumped his legs as hard as he could, and took out his crossbow. He followed the other Toa back through the entrance hallway, and purposefully lagged behind the rest of them a few paces while he began charging up a shot. The five Toa and the Turaga made it out, and Vakama whirled to face the advancing Dark Hunters.

Nidhiki had another energy web ready to be spat, and Krekka had also charged up his shoulder-mounted weapon. Vakama stood his ground, and in a flash he shot the ceiling with a massive firebolt. Stone crumbled from the ceiling and toppled on top of the two Dark Hunters. Vakama spun on his heel and sprinted towards the exit. He heard the cries of Nidhiki and Krekka as debris bombarded them.

He made it outside, where rain pelted down on him once again. The transport vehicle was waiting for him, engine running and ready to leave. He dove into the back end of the transport, and Matau jammed on the gas. The vehicle shot forward. Inside, all seven companions were dripping with rainwater and breathing heavily.

“What about the Dark Hunters?” Nuju shouted at him over the rain and the roar of the engine.

“I think I slowed them down,” Vakama shouted back. Nuju cracked a smile.

“Nice job,” he said simply. Getting a compliment from the Toa of Ice brought a genuine smile to Vakama’s face.

“I hate to spoil the party, but what do we do now?” Onewa said. Vakama noticed Whenua staring intently at the floor of the transport. Then his eyes widened and his head snapped up.

“The matoran!” he cried, bringing everyone on board the transport to attention, “They’re in those spheres down below!” He scrambled to the front of the vehicle where Matau was driving.

“Matau! Take the maintenance tunnel that leads below the Coliseum!” the Toa of Earth said.

“You got it!” Matau flashed a thumbs-up and pressed harder on the gas pedal. The transport accelerated, splashing through deep puddles of water on the wet ground. Rain pelted the roof and the windshield. Lightning struck directly in front of the transport, causing the entire thing to shake.

“Dammit,” Matau yelped, swerving abruptly in a panic, “I really don’t like this Makuta guy!”  
Onewa laughed despite the situation. “Understatement of the year,” the Toa of Stone chuckled.


	15. Escape

The transport vehicle entered the maintenance tunnel, and spiraled down into the earth. Matau felt nervous again. _Sorry-bad things happen underground_ , he thought to himself. He couldn’t help but think about the chaos Makuta was stirring up on the surface, and how it could possibly affect them down here.

He felt a little better as the tunnel opened into a massive cavern, with a ceiling that had to be miles high. The walls had thousands, perhaps millions, of perfectly square compartments wherein each sat a large silver sphere. The pathway began to bend to the left, and Matau was at first too busy staring up at the spheres to notice it until Nokama grabbed the steering handles and yanked them to the side. Matau snapped out of his thoughts and jammed his foot on the brakes. Standing up from the driver’s seat, he saw a yawning chasm mere inches away from the vehicle’s tires. Matau whistled.

“Maybe you should drive next time,” he said to Nokama, who smiled.

“I thought _you_ were the great Toa-rider,” she teased. Matau felt a bit hot in the face, but he shrugged nonchalantly.

“That’s true,” he said, “I am.”

Nokama laughed and rolled her eyes. Matau smiled, the heat in his face increasing slightly.

The light mood was short lived. When all the Toa and Lhikan exited the vehicle and approached the wall of spheres, a tremor shook under their feet. Dust from the ceiling drifted down on top of them. Matau coughed, and used his powers to stir up a slight breeze to blow the dust away.

He joined the others, and saw Nokama approach one of the spheres and activate the small door. Sure enough, inside was a Ko-matoran, sound asleep. She placed two fingers on the matoran’s neck. She nodded to the others.

“They’re definitely still alive,” she said. The Toa exchanged looks with one another.

“What do we do now?” Onewa asked, voicing the question everyone was thinking, “We can’t fit all these in the transport.” He gestured to the immense wall of spheres that contained the entire population of Metru Nui.

Vakama stepped forward. “We’ll have to take all we can and come back for the rest.”

“But where will we go?” Nuju said.

Vakama sighed heavily, “We may have to find an entirely new island.”

Everyone was silent. All any of them knew was Metru Nui, the city of legends as it was called. Each of the six Toa had called it their home for as long as they could remember. Even Lhikan, who wasn’t even a native to the city, had called it home. However, each one of them knew that Metru Nui was no longer safe.

“If that’s what we have to do,” Nokama stated, “Then we’ll follow your lead, Vakama.”

The Toa of Fire nodded to her, and the Toa got to work selecting a few random matoran capsules to load onto the transport. With Nuju’s telekinesis the job went along rather quickly. They all boarded the transport, and began the journey back to the surface.

While Matau drove, he noticed the uncomfortable silence within the vehicle. Everyone was in especially low spirits, and he couldn’t blame them for he felt the same pain. He never even considered that after becoming a Toa he’d never see Le-Metru again. He’d probably never get to go back on the test track and go wild like he used to.

But he pushed past the sadness. He was a Toa now, and Toa always had a sworn duty to fight evil and protect the matoran at all costs. Even at the thought, he still swallowed hard. A new island, A new life. It was a bit much to take in.

The vehicle emerged from the tunnels, and rain began pelting the outside of it once again.

“Where to, now?” he called over his shoulder.

Before anyone could answer, something heavy landed on the roof, making them all yelp in surprise. To Matau’s left, a large face appeared upside down in his window, and smashed through the glass with its forehead.

“Remember me?” Krekka bellowed, and Matau pitched the vehicle the other way in an attempt to throw him off. But the brute hung on. Krekka made a grab for Matau, who in the act of dodging the blow managed to swerve the vehicle off the road, nearly colliding with a chute support beam.

“I’m trying to drive here!” he shouted at the brute, who made another grab for him. “Nokama, a little help?!”

Nokama wasn’t next to him anymore. As Matau tried to focus both on driving and not getting hit by the Dark Hunter, he heard the voice of Nidhiki in the back of the transport.

“Toa or Turaga, your fate will be the same, Lhikan!” the other Dark Hunter hissed.

“I’ll take care of Krekka!” Onewa shouted, and Matau heard the Toa of Stone come up next to him.

Matau still had his eyes on where he was going, but also watched what Onewa was planning to do in his peripherals. The Toa of Stone was staring hard at Krekka for a few seconds. Before Matau could ask what was going on, the brute stopped attacking. His face disappeared from the window, and Matau could hear him scrambling across the roof of the transport.

Soon Matau heard a violent scuffle in the back of the transport. Krekka bellowed, Nidhiki screamed in pain, and they both tumbled out the back of the transport.

“What happened?” Matau yelled over the noise.

“I told Krekka to get Nidhiki, and that’s what he did,” Onewa answered simply.

Matau cracked a smile, looking at the Toa of Stone out of the corner of his eye. “Nice,” he said.

* * * 

Vakama was relieved they were rid of the two Dark Hunters, who tumbled out of the transport. Unfortunately, Nidhiki had torn away the back door and in the scuffle with Krekka he had knocked Turaga Dume’s capsule out the back of the transport as well. It rolled away from them, splashing in the mud outside.

“Matau, stop the—,” Vakama started to yell, but a large two-pronged shadowy spike came down from the sky and impaled both Nidhiki and Krekka all the way through. The two Dark Hunters lay still, eyes glazed over, their blood dripping and pooling below them along with the rainwater. Makuta’s deep cold voice whispered in the air, somehow louder than the pounding rain.

“I have no more use of you two. I’ll tell the rest of the Dark Hunters you won’t be coming home.” The statement was followed by another bout of soul-shilling laughter. Before Vakama’s eyes, the blood and bodies of Nidhiki and Krekka seemed to dissipate and dissolve into the rain without a trace left behind.

Recovering from the shock of what he’d witnessed, Vakama clambered up to the front of the transport.

“Matau, we need to turn back! Dume’s sphere fell out!” he said.

“Alright,” Matau said, but before he could maneuver, another large shadow spike exploded the ground in front of them, and the vehicle went up the incline and flew a few feet before crashing back down again. Everyone and everything rattled inside the transport. Vakama looked back to see Nokama, Onewa, Whenua, Nuju, and Lhikan all clinging on to the remaining matoran spheres to keep them from falling out the back, since there was only a gaping hole in place of the door.

Matau pressed on the gas harder, and the vehicle careened over another jump, rattling them all again. Shadow spikes from the sky bombarded every inch of ground, and pierced holes in the ceiling of the transport. Rainwater began to leak in. Rocks flew up from the ground where the spikes struck, and pelted the windows. Vakama looked out the passenger window, and could see they were nearby the bridge to the Great Temple in Ga-Koro. And the bridge was swarming with Vahki.

Matau let out a grunt of frustration. “Let’s hope this thing floats!” he said, flooring it towards the bridge, crashing through a few Vahki robots, and tumbling off the edge into the sea below.

It was rough, but the transport smashed the surface of the water, and bobbed up and down. Vakama sank into the passenger’s chair.

“Hey, it does float! Kinda…” Matau said.

“Hit the gas,” Nokama said from behind them, “I’ll give this thing a boost.”

Matau did as he was told, and the vehicle slowly trundled forward. Vakama saw Nokama raise her arms, then thrust them forward. As Nokama drew her arms behind her the water stirred up around them, and the vehicle blasted forward like a speedboat. Matau whooped in delight.

They all sailed past the Great Temple, and soon their beloved city was far behind them. Ahead only lay a vast ocean, and none of them knew what lay beyond. Once again, there was peace, and everyone aboard rested.

Vakama felt his breathing return to normal, and noticed his clothes and armor were nearly dry after being soaked from the rain. He pulled the Great Disk combination he had made earlier. He looked all over its surface. He also pulled out his tool; he’d kept it from when he was a matoran, and even though he wasn’t sure why he’d done it, he was glad he did. He activated the tool and began to shape the disk.


	16. The Great Beyond

Vakama finished, put his tool away, and sat back to check on his handiwork. He frowned, then took out his tool again to smooth out some rough edges.

“You’re a Toa, Vakama,” Matau said from the driver’s seat, “You don’t have to make tools anymore.”

“The false Dume wanted this,” Vakama said, checking over its surface again, “But what for, I wonder?”  
“What is that?” Matau asked.

“It’s called the Vahi,” Vakama said, holding it up for the Toa of Air to see, “It’s an artifact from legend that’s supposed to control time. But it could only have been made with the Great Disks.”

“Huh,” Matau said.

A thought struck Vakama, and he gasped loud enough to make Matau jump and veer the transport slightly off to one side.

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack, or what?” The Toa of Air demanded.

“Time! He wanted to speed up time!”

“What mad-crazy idea are you getting at?”

“Makuta put matoran to sleep in those capsules, and he said when they’d wake up he’ll be their leader! He probably wanted the Vahi to speed up the process! He wants to brainwash the matoran to serve him!”

Matau looked at Vakama for a long while before cracking a smile.

“Then when we return, we'll get him. Together,” The Toa of Air said. Vakama nodded to his Toa companion.

In the next instant Vakama felt his consciousness slip away again. Yet again he became lost in a vision.

_He was drifting over the ocean, and when he looked behind him over his shoulder, the city of Metru Nui was only a speck on the horizon. He passed over the silvery water, over a small rocky island, and up to a massive cave that looked like the open mouth of a gigantic beast. Once inside, he saw what looked like a pair of doors opening, and blinding light shone through._

_He entered the light, felt its warmth, and saw what lay beyond. It was an island, nearly identical to the one he and the others left behind. But it was lush and green, and practically pulsed with untamed life._

Vakama came to, and found himself once again in the passenger’s seat of the transport driven by Matau, sputtering across the ocean. He turned to the Toa of Air.

“I know where we need to go. Keep north,” he instructed.

“You got it, Vakama,” Matau said cheerfully, and adjusted the vehicle’s course slightly.

They sailed along for a few peaceful minutes until Vakama’s eye caught a large shape in the distance. They were approaching the rocky island from his vision, and upon a large stone plateau stood Makuta, sporting massive shadowy wings.

“Go straight ahead, Matau,” Vakama said, determination filling him like a fire in his veins.

“Whatever you think-say,” Matau said, his voice hesitant.

Makuta’s cold deep voice filled the air itself, and Vakama stifled a shiver.

“I can’t allow your journey to continue,” the Master of Darkness purred, “This ends now.”

Vakama climbed out the passenger window despite Matau’s protests, and stood tall atop the transport.

“By the will of the Great Spirit, our journey has just begun!” he shouted into the wind and rain. He stood his ground even when Makuta’s mocking laughter reverberated in the air.

“So small and foolish,” he said. Even from the distance, Vakama could see Makuta thrust his arms to the sky, and several large pillars of water erupted from the sea.

“I can take care of this,” Nokama said, appearing beside Vakama suddenly. She motioned her arms, pushing the water pillars out of the way of the transport. Makuta continued his assault, and with every pillar Nokama destroyed, three more took its place. The Toa of Water unsheathed her hydro blades and focused more power on her counterattack.

Suddenly Onewa had appeared on the roof with them as well. While Nokama was busy with a few pillars to the side, Onewa leapt at a pillar that rose directly in front of the transport, brandishing his proto piton. With one swing, the water pillar burst apart, and the transport sailed forward without obstruction. The Toa of Stone landed back on the transport.

“Thanks a lot, Onewa!” Nokama said.

“No problem!” Onewa said, and continued the assault.

Vakama ducked down into the transport once again, and tapped on Matau’s shoulder.

“Take us straight towards the plateau,” he said.

“Sure, let’s dive right into Makuta’s hands,” Matau snorted.

“Just do it!” Vakama snapped. Surprised at the Toa of Fire’s ferocity, Matau promptly steered in the direction he was told to go.

As the transport approached the plateau, which loomed before them like the spire of the Coliseum, Vakama turned to Nuju who was still in the back of the transport, helping Whenua and Lhikan to keep the matoran spheres from falling in the ocean.

“Nuju, can you get me up there?” Vakama pointed out the window.

Nuju nodded, and peered at Vakama, holding out his hand. Vakama felt his body lift and sail out of the transport. He soared up to the plateau on which Makuta stood, and he dropped, landing on his feet. He raised his head, meeting the red eyes of the shadowy giant.

Makuta had an amused smirk on his pale face. Vakama had one hand in his pocket, wrapped around the Vahi.

“What have you got there?” the Master of Shadows asked.

For just a moment, Vakama felt a pang of fear in his chest. Makuta made him feel unbelievably small. He could kill him so easily. Before panic could overtake him, Vakama gripped the Vahi in his pocket harder, reminding himself that he was a Toa. He had to face his fear. It was his duty to all of Metru Nui.

He pulled out the Vahi, and held it up for Makuta to see. The Master of Shadows’ eyes widened, and his mouth spread into a pleased grin.

“So, you finished the project after all,” he said, “You are a great toolmaker.”

Vakama held Makuta’s mocking gaze. He had to slow Makuta down, any way he could.

“Join me,” Makuta said, “And you could accomplish great things. The matoran would write legends about you!”

“I’d never join the likes of you,” Vakama said, holding the Vahi up higher, “I only desire peace for the matoran world, a world without you!”

Makuta’s eyes narrowed, “Then perhaps you should join our dear friends Nidhiki and Krekka.” His shadow wings erupted into large spikes, and directed them down at the Toa of Fire.

Vakama felt the totem in his hands, and with a buzz on his fingertips he activated its power. Sure enough, Makuta’s shadow spikes slowed almost to a stop. Maybe I if I could keep him here, thought Vakama, I could allow the others time to escape to the new island!

Unfortunately, as slow as the spikes were, they were still coming, and Vakama himself was trapped within the time distortion as well, so he couldn’t move. And he could feel strength draining rapidly from his limbs. I’m such an idiot, he thought.

The spikes were closing in, and it was only a matter of time before they pierced through his armor and ended him. Vakama felt the weight of physical weakness and emotional despair pushing him to the ground. A golden glint was caught in his peripheral vision.

In slow motion, Turaga Lhikan pushed Vakama’s hands and the Vahi out of the way, and stood protectively in front of the Toa of Fire. Time returned to normal, and all in a flash Vakama saw the Vahi fly out of his hands and tumble off a nearby cliff while Makuta’s shadow spikes impaled Lhikan through the chest.

Vakama wanted to scream, but no sound escaped his throat, and he began to collapse. Matau caught him, and looking around Vakama could see that the other Toa had arrived as well. The shadow spikes disappeared, and Lhikan’s old frail body dropped limply to the ground. Makuta payed the Toa no attention, leapt over them and off the cliff after the Vahi, his shadowy wings fluttering like a rahi bat’s.

Vakama gently pushed Matau away and stumbled towards Lhikan. With shaky breaths, he reached out to the Turaga, noticing the pool of blood forming underneath him.

“N-no,” he stuttered, reaching Lhikan’s side. He rolled the Turaga onto his back. Lhikan’s warm yellow eyes were clouded over, and his breathing was shallow.

“T-that blow was meant for me,” Vakama said in almost a whisper. Lhikan took his hand gently.

“No, this is my lifetime’s journey,” Lhikan croaked. He dropped Vakama’s hand and pointed off towards the distant horizon, where Vakama’s vision had told him where they needed to take the matoran. “Yours lies beyond,” the Turaga coughed, and a bit of blood bubbled from his mouth.

“Y-you can’t go,” Vakama said. He suddenly became aware that the other Toa were surrounding Lhikan, all equally shocked and devastated as he felt.

“You sure you can’t hang on a little longer?” Onewa said, his voice faltering towards the last syllable.

Lhikan coughed again, his breaths shallower and fading by the second. He looked up at all of them and smiled. “I am proud…to have called you all…fellow Toa…” and the Turaga’s last breath fluttered out, and his yellow eyes slowly closed. He didn’t move again. The six Toa knelt over him in stunned silence.

Nuju gently placed two fingers on the Turaga’s neck. His icy blue eyes shone with moisture. He squeezed them shut.

“He-he’s gone…” the Toa of Ice said. A whisper travelled along the circle of Toa, and each hung their head in grief. Vakama felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He met Nokama’s eyes, which were filled with tears.

Vakama looked back down at Lhikan’s weathered face, peaceful as if in sleep. He felt something inside himself harden. He gently shrugged Nokama’s hand off his shoulder and stood to his full height. He stepped away from Lhikan’s body and the five Toa, and strode to the cliff where Makuta dove after the Vahi.

“Vakama?” he heard Nokama call, “where did you go?”

Confused, he turned to look at her. “I’m right he—,” Vakama looked down at himself. He couldn’t see his outstretched hands, or his legs and feet.

“My kanohi,” he breathed. At last, he thought to himself. With renewed strength, he peered down the cliff and scanned the area for Makuta. The Master of Shadows burst out of the water far away, and Vakama could make out the golden glint of the Vahi in his massive fist. Makuta landed on another plateau, letting out a roar of triumph.

Thinking quickly, Vakama held his crossbow aloft and shot a firebolt. It struck Makuta’s hand, and the Vahi flew back into the ocean, disappearing into its depths. Before Makuta could retrieve it again, Vakama shot another firebolt, striking the Master of Shadows in the center of his back. Vakama leapt down the cliff, using fire to slow his descent. He landed, and rocketed himself towards the plateau where Makuta stood.

The Master of Shadows whirled every which way. Still invisible, Vakama shot him with fire again. Makuta roared, and shrugged it off. Shadow spikes exploded from his back in every direction, and Vakama dove to avoid them. He got back on his feet. He kicked a nearby rock, and Makuta whirled at the sound, shooting out more spikes. Vakama slipped past Makuta’s attacks, moving as silently as he could. He kicked another rock, and Makuta shot at that as well.

The Master of Shadows frowned, and retracted his spikes back into his body. Vakama watched Makuta for several minutes, but the dark one didn’t move a muscle. Vakama’s mind reeled, wondering what he was doing and what action to take next.

Makuta’s blood-red eyes swiveled and fixed directly at Vakama.

“I know where you are,” Makuta hissed, “I can hear your heart pounding.”

Vakama froze on the spot, every one of his muscles tensed. Suddenly his mind went back to the sleeping matoran, Lhikan’s sacrifice, and his fellow Toa. Taking a deep breath, he deactivated his kanohi, revealing himself once again.

“I don’t need to hide from you,” he said, meeting the Master of Shadows’ gaze, “I’m a Toa.”

Makuta burst out laughing, “No Toa can defeat me alone,” he hissed.

“Guess what, you bastard! He’s not alone!” Onewa’s voice appeared behind Makuta, who whirled just in time to be struck in the face by a large boulder. Vakama felt joy rise within his throat when he saw the other five Toa, all being carried by a whirlwind courtesy of Matau. Stones swirled around Onewa, who started slinging more of them at Makuta as he and the others landed on the plateau next to Vakama.

Vakama readied his crossbow again, and fired at Makuta. Matau bombarded him with blasts of wind. Whenua brought up slabs of earth to throw him off balance. Nuju shot large ice spikes at him. Nokama called forth a massive wave from the ocean below to drown him.

Makuta ducked, rolled, and flipped out of the way of most of the elemental blows, using his shadow wings to his advantage. Dark electricity crackled around his hands, and he shot bolts of it in all directions. Most of the Toa dodged, except Nuju who was struck in the chest. The Toa of Ice crumpled to the ground, twitching. Whenua leapt after him, and stood protectively over Nuju while shielding them both with a large wall of earth he conjured up. Vakama was distracted by the scene, and looked up a second too late to see a bolt of lightning strike him as well. Much to his surprise, Onewa leapt in front of him, and protected him with large boulders while Vakama writhed in pain on the ground. One of Onewa’s boulders struck Makuta on his shoulder, making him stumble backwards a step.

With a roar of anger, Makuta’s shadow wings extended, and a shockwave went through the ground and air itself. The plateau cracked beneath the Toa’s feet, and each struggled to maintain balance. The pain from Makuta’s strike was fading, and Vakama began to push himself to his feet. He saw Whenua struggle to close the cracks in the earth under them, as a recovered Nuju, a determined Onewa, an excited Matau, and a strong Nokama all continued pelting Makuta with their respective elements, all while dodging Makuta’s shadow spikes. Vakama charged up his crossbow, and as he rose to his feet, he aimed directly at Makuta’s chest.

Something happened that none of them would have expected. Vakama’s firebolt, along with a slab of earth from Whenua, an ice spike from Nuju, a boulder from Onewa, a blast of water from Nokama, and a blade of air from Matau all struck the Master of Shadows at once, hitting him dead center in his massive chest.

There was a burst of light, and when it faded, Makuta was pinned to a wall of stone, held down by a jagged band of some silvery substance across his chest. The dark one groaned in pain, trying to pull himself free. The Toa all exchanged mesmerized looks. Then they all looked to Vakama at once. He met their eyes, and smiled.

“Let’s do that again. As one!” he cried, and all six of them blasted Makuta with their elements at the same time. Makuta writhed under the assault, but soon he was frozen in place, completely encased in that strange silvery substance. His face was frozen in an expression of pure animalistic rage.

And it was over. In an instant, it was all over. Vakama lowered his crossbow to his side, letting it drop to the ground. Off to his right Matau dropped his aero slicers and collapsed to the ground, lying on his back. He let out a loud sigh.

“We…we did it…” Onewa said, his mouth agape.

“Truly amazing,” Nuju stated in awe.

Whenua’s face stretched into an enthusiastic smile. Laughter shook the Toa of Earth’s frame. Soon all the others joined in, including Vakama. They all grouped together, exchanging fist bumps and patting each other on the back. Nokama pulled Vakama into a tight hug.

Matau strode up behind the Toa of Water, clearing his throat and tapping her on the shoulder. She turned, and Matau held his arms out, raising an eyebrow. Nokama stepped forward, and playfully patted him on the back, laughing. Matau stumbled, but laughed all the same, his face turning red.

As the other Toa talked excitedly among themselves, Vakama’s gaze drifted off to the higher plateau, the one where Lhikan’s body still lay. All joy in their moment of triumph dissipated. The other Toa’s voiced faded as they all noticed where he was looking. A somber silence hung over them once again.

“We should go,” Vakama said. The others nodded silently.

They brought Lhikan’s body down to where the transport was floating on the shore of the rocky island, waiting for them. Out of stone, Onewa shaped a sarcophagus for the Turaga, and he, Whenua, and Nuju gently laid Lhikan inside. Onewa closed it up with his powers, and they took it aboard.

“We’ll bury him on the new island,” Vakama said somberly. The others nodded their agreement and they piled into the transport once again.

Matau climbed into the driver’s seat, and started the vehicle up. They sailed once more in the direction of the new island. Vakama looked back, to where the Master of Shadows was imprisoned, crystalized onto the face of a rocky cliff. Instead of fading, his fear grew as they got further away from the dark one. Even frozen like that, Vakama thought grimly, I’m sure he’ll find a way to get out of there. A being that powerful would have a backup plan.

He shook his head, deciding he wasn’t going to worry about it. Right now they needed to find that island, then they’ll need to gather everything they could to make the return journey and rescue the rest of the matoran.

_I sure hope this place is worth it_ , he thought.


	17. Interlude

Turaga Vakama finished his last sentence, and sighed, sitting down on a nearby rock to rest. Takanuva tried to process what he had just heard. It was an amazing story so far, ever since he was a matoran Takanuva couldn’t imagine Turaga Vakama doing anything other than giving sage advice and scolding him for wandering off. But he was once a Toa, like Tahu and the others, who fought in battles and protected the innocent.

“Turaga,” he spoke up, and Vakama raised his head.

“Yes, Takanuva?” the old man was clearly tired, but Takanuva had to know.

“How is it you had never heard of Makuta until you fought him?”

Vakama paused for a minute. “We _had_ heard of him before, it’s just that we had believed he was only a legend. Unfortunately, legends tend to come true quite a lot.”

“I see,” Takanuva said, “Forgive me Turaga, you can rest now.”

“Thank you, young Toa,” the old man smiled, and then addressed the rest who were listening, “You may all take a break as well. We’ll reconvene when the sun sets.”

Takanuva turned to Hahli as the other Toa began to disperse, all wearing expressions of both wonder and confusion.

“Let’s go see Jaller,” he said, and Hahli nodded enthusiastically.

They met back up with their friend, who was patrolling a small area as if he were still Captain of the Guard of the long-gone Ta-Koro. His face lit up when he caught sight of Takanuva and Hahli approaching him.

“Well, what did they tell you?” he asked.

“I don’t think we’re supposed to say just yet,” Hahli said. Jaller’s face seemed to fall in disappointment.

“Oh, okay,” he said, eyes wandering around the strange rock formations in the area.

“The story’s not over yet. We’re supposed to go back at sunset,” Takanuva said.

Jaller was silent for a minute.

“The Turaga will definitely tell everyone after he’s told us,” Hahli added, and Jaller seemed to perk up a bit.

“Then I’ll respect the old man’s wishes,” Jaller said, “I won’t bug you for details.”

The three friends explored the area to pass the time, making sure they wouldn’t wander too far away from the other matoran. While they made their way through the trees, Takanuva caught a glimpse of Macku and Hewkii sitting close beside a small campfire.

Takanuva and his two companions sifted through the dense forest beyond the camp. Small insects flitted about, and Takanuva could hear rushing water in the distance. This place had a strange smell, not like Mata Nui at all. While Mata Nui had a soft, earthy smell, this place’s scent was harsher and sharper. He felt a pang of longing for his home; the dampness of the Le-Koro jungle, the salty air of Ga-Koro, even the volcanic smog of Ta-Koro held a special place in his heart. Knowing they would never go back there made him feel a bit heavy.

He looked up at the darkening sky, and watched the stars emerge. Takanuva noticed one that he had never seen in the sky before. It was bright red. While the other stars twinkled, this one seemed to burn. As Takanuva stared at it, it seemed to begin pulling him in.

“Takanuva!” Hahli’s voice brought him back to his senses. She approached him, still clutching Jaller’s hand. “We should start heading back. It’s nearly sunset.”

“Right,” he said, and followed his two friends out of the forest.

Back at the meeting place where all the Turaga had gathered once again, Takanuva noticed that he and Hahli were the first of the listeners to arrive. After ten minutes, the sky darkened more, and the Toa Nuva had yet to return. Matoro stood up from his seat next to Turaga Nuju.

“I sh-should light a campfire,” he said aloud, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“That would be most gracious of you, young one,” Turaga Vakama said, and the Ko-Matoran got down on his knees and began digging a makeshift fire pit with his hands.

“I’ll help you out,” Hahli offered, and knelt down across from Matoro and began digging as well. Takanuva looked back up at the sky, seeing that the sky was an inky blue now.

“Turaga Vakama,” the young Toa said, “If I may, I can go look for the others.”

“Yes, you may,” the old elder smiled a wrinkled smile. Takanuva was glad to see him looking more like his old cheerful self. He gave a small bow to him and the other Turaga, and ran off.

He kept a small light orb floating above his hand to light the way. He navigated the foreign landscape, looking for any trace of the Toa Nuva. Some trees rustled, and Onua popped out of the foliage directly in front of Takanuva, who jumped.

“Oh, sorry Takanuva,” the Toa of Earth smiled kindly.

“I was looking for you guys,” Takanuva said, “You’re late.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Onua said, “We just needed a minute to ourselves.”

Takanuva nodded silently. The Toa of Earth passed him, heading back to the meeting place. Soon after him, Pohatu and Kopaka followed. Pohatu looked a bit troubled, but Kopaka wore the same stoic expression he always did. Lewa came next, stopping to say hi to Takanuva before following his Toa brothers. Tahu came after, and he looked like he was lost in thought, so he didn’t even acknowledge Takanuva’s presence. Last came Gali, and she took a step past Takanuva, froze in place, then turned to face him.

“It’s just…incredible,” she said with great difficulty. The Toa of Water’s brow was furrowed, and her eyes were distant.

“Yeah, I agree,” Takanuva said, “I never would have guessed it either.”

“It’s not just that,” Gali said, and Takanuva searched her blue eyes for the meaning behind the statement. Gali breathed a long and heavy sigh. “There’s no telling what’s in store for us. It’s a little frightening, considering the Turaga had waited this long to tell us all this.”

Takanuva didn’t know what to say, so he remained silent. Gali smiled at the Toa of Light, trying to erase the worry from her face.

“Well, shall we go?” she said. Takanuva smiled back and nodded, and the two walked back to where the other Toa, Hahli, Matoro, and the six Turaga of Mata Nui were waiting for them. They each took their seats, Gali next to Kopaka, and Takanuva next to Hahli. Turaga Vakama rose to his feet, gripping his firestaff with renewed firmness.

“It’s time we continued this story,” he said, meeting the eyes of each one of his listeners, “I’ll have to warn you, some of the things you’re about to hear may be hard to take.” No one said a word. Pohatu shifted uncomfortably in his spot. Lewa’s eyes were wider than usual. Tahu was gripping the fallen log he was sitting on, his knuckles white. Vakama seemed to sense the tension in the air, and gave a friendly smile.

“It’s not my intention to scare any of you. What you are hearing is crucial for the future, and I promise that when I am finished with the story of the Toa Metru, you will all be wiser in the faces of the challenges that await us all.”

Takanuva felt like the air cleared up a bit, and the Toa Nuva looked a bit more relaxed. Turaga Vakama cleared his throat, and brought his firestaff down to continue the story once again.


	18. A Savage Paradise

Matau felt his eyelids growing heavier. For days now, the six of them have been sailing across the seemingly endless sea in search of the island Vakama talked about. He hadn’t slept in far too long, and he could feel it beginning to catch up to him. Matau believed that what Vakama saw in his vision was right; he stopped doubting him a while ago. But at the same time he felt like he could pass out at the wheel any second now.

“Vakama?” he called tiredly over his shoulder.

“Yeah?” Vakama came up to the front, standing next to the passenger’s seat where Nokama had fallen asleep about an hour ago.

“How much further is this place? I’m dying here.”

“It won’t be long now,” Vakama said, “You can make it.”

“How are you so awake right now?” Matau said, his speech slurring a bit.

“I don’t have time to sleep,” Vakama stated, then moved to the back of the transport once again. Matau snorted as he left.

“Whatever,” he said under his breath, turning his attention to the painfully boring waves in the painfully boring ocean. He let go of the controls for a split second to slap himself in the face. The minor pain seemed to wake him for about a minute before he felt his eyelids sinking again. Matau heard Nokama give a small yawn and begin stirring in her seat.

“Hey, good morning!” he said, glancing sideways at her. Nokama blinked a few times, and her blue eyes opened slowly. She gave him a small smile that seemed to warm his whole body.

“How long was I out?” she asked, her voice slightly groggy.

“A few hours, I think. Or a few years. Time drags when you’re in the middle of nowhere,” Matau said casually.

“Did Vakama say how much longer it’ll be before we get to that island?”

“He just said ‘it won’t be long now,’” Matau said, doing an aloof and exaggerated imitation of Vakama.

Nokama stood up from her seat and stretched her arms behind her. “I can take the wheel if you want a nap,” she offered.

“Nah, I’m good. I can hold ou—,” Matau’s sentence drifted off into a long yawn. Nokama gave a soft laugh, and gently put her hand over Matau’s on top of the steering handle. He felt his heart skip.

“Wait, you don’t even know how—,” Matau started to say.

“—The brakes are here, the gas is right next to it, and these steer,” Nokama said, pointing to all the right mechanisms. Matau gave her a sleepy grin.

“Alright, I guess you’re an expert,” he chuckled, and settled into the passenger’s chair. His eyelids slid shut and he felt the gravity around him increase tenfold. He slipped into oblivion for only Mata Nui knows how long, until Nokama gave a shout of excitement.

“Wha—what’s wrong?” Matau jumped from the seat, suddenly wide awake.

“I think I see land!” Nokama cried, pointing straight ahead. Matau followed her index finger, and squinted into the distance. Sure enough, there was a small green sliver visible on the horizon, sitting peacefully in the gray undulating sea. Matau turned to the back of the vehicle. Before he could say anything, Vakama pushed past him and stood by Nokama, looking out into the distance.

“There it is,” the Toa of Fire breathed, “there’s our new home.”

“Woah, slow down buddy,” Matau chuckled, “We don’t even know what lives there. Could be full of fikou spiders.”

“It’s the place I saw in my vision. This is where we are meant to go,” Vakama said with a hard edge in his voice.

“Alright, sheesh, don’t need to get defensive,” Matau half-mumbled. Vakama probably heard the comment, but didn’t react to it. Soon, Nuju, Whenua, and Onewa also came up to the front of the vehicle. They all stared out into the distance in awe. As they approached, the green strip of land got closer, and larger. Soon rolling green cliffs towered over them, and the clouds parted, bombarding them with sunlight. Flocks of rahi birds flew overhead, calling out to one another.

The transport was mere minutes away from hitting the white sandy shore. Nokama stood up from the driver’s seat, and gestured towards them.

“Would the great Toa-rider like the honor of landing on this new island?” she asked Matau.

“It would be a pleasure, honorary Toa-rider!” Matau said, and got back in the driver’s seat, all previous fatigue melting away. He turned the transport slightly, and let it drift closer to the shore before hitting the brakes. The transport hit the land with minimum impact, and he could hear the sound of its rubber tires scraping across the sand. He threw the lever and the engine quieted.

The transport halted, and the Toa Metru all leapt out one by one to stand on the shore of the new land. They unloaded the few matoran canisters they’d salvaged, as well as Lhikan’s stone coffin, and left them on the beach. They all silently dug a hole in the sand and lowered Lhikan’s coffin into it, covering it back up again. Each Toa looked up to the bright blue sky, unsure of what this place could hold for the future of the matoran.

* * *

The six had decided to split up, and search for ideal locations to build the new metru. Nokama stayed behind to check out the shoreline. It reminded her of Ga-Metru, though it was beautiful in a much more natural and wild way. The sand was pale, the sea was rough, but sparkling and blue, the plantlife was vibrant and green. She filled her lungs with the salty scent of the ocean. She scouted the coastline, looking for an ideal area for the new Ga-Metru. She caught glimpses of tiny crabs skittering along the sand, and fish leaping out of the ocean in graceful arcs.

It didn’t take her long to find an area on the beach that looked perfect. The sea was on one side, and the sand was on the other, and the whole thing was surrounded by rocky cliffs, forming a large circle. It was a bit smaller than Ga-Metru was, but the way the landscape was arranged looked as if a village was meant to be built there since the beginning of time.

“That settles that,” Nokama said to herself. She grabbed a few pieces of driftwood from the shore and stabbed them into the sand to mark the spot. She rubbed the sand off her hands, and strolled along the shore, and even ventured into the nearby forest to explore more of this new land. A flock of rahi birds were chattering above her, and rahi fish leapt out of the water in the distance.

For a moment, Nokama felt a pang for the gleaming buildings of her old district. Even if they built a new Ga-Metru, it could never be the same. She sighed, shaking the sadness from her mind. _We can never go back to how it was_ , she thought, _but we can always move forward._

* * *

Matau stepped in another mud hole, nearly losing his boot in the process of pulling it back out. The slop stuck to the bottom of the sole, and weighed down his foot as he walked. A small swarm of insects buzzed past his ear, making him flinch. A few paces behind him, an old shriveled tree fell and crashed to the ground.

“What a damn mess,” he muttered, dragging his boot across a patch of grass to get rid of the mud. The air here was damp and heavy, and as he stumbled and pushed his way through the dense foliage he suddenly felt raindrops hit his head and arms. Matau looked up to the small amount of sky poking through the canopy overhead, only to be drenched within seconds by a downpour. He scrambled for cover, but the rain stopped within seconds of starting. Matau glanced back up at the sky. It was bright and cloudless, as if nothing happened. The leaves and tree branches dripped, and more insects gathered around the puddles on the ground for a drink.

More mud had formed, slowing his progress even more. Deciding he had enough of walking, Matau stirred up some wind and with its help he jumped up and perched on a tree branch up high. He began leaping from tree branch to tree branch, feeling excitement rise within him. Now this is a way to travel! he though happily.

He leapt about for a few minutes, but suddenly stopped. Crouching on his branch, Matau peered through the foliage and saw a large open clearing. He jumped off the branch, did a few flips, and landed in the center of it, his landing cushioned by a pocket of air. He ground his boot into the ground. It was reasonably solid. He looked around. The clearing looked large enough.

He looked up to the thick canopy of trees, and sighed. They probably wouldn’t have the resources to build a new chute system, nor the space. How would they travel? Matau was beginning to have doubts about the new island. Metru Nui was an industrial place, full of buildings and technology. This island was untouched and wild. Adjusting was going to be difficult, he could tell.

“Well, we have nowhere else to go,” Matau said aloud, “I guess we’ll have to make do.”

* * *

Whenua had wandered so far, he couldn’t shake the fear of not being able to make it back to the transport. He did his best to mark his trail by gently carving the bark of the trees he walked by, and called up small mounds of dirt from the ground. The jungle was hot and humid, and he sighed in relief when the trees cleared and the ground became rockier. He climbed past a mountain ridge, and on the other side he was met with a long expanse of sparse forest. After many hours he reached a rocky plain. He could hear the ocean again.

I’ve reached the other side of the island, he thought in awe. He followed the sound of crashing waves, only to come up to a sheer cliff that led down to a rocky shore. He turned back, surveying the area. There were rock formations, and small caves scattered about. He ducked into one cave, feeling the damp earthy walls. He reached the back of it, and ran his hand over the wall.

Whenua pulled out his drill weapons and punched at the wall. It crumbled easily, and soon the entire thing collapsed. Activating his kanohi, Wheuna peered into the underground, seeing winding tunnels and large natural caverns, all painted silver in his night vision. It was perfect for the new Onu-Metru.

Whenua stepped out of the cave, and erected two large rectangular slabs of earth on either side of the entrance to mark it. His job done, he began to make his way back, following the earth mounds he had used to mark his trail. He noticed that he was walking with a spring in his step at the thought of digging out a new Onu-Metru, and polishing those earthy walls. It would never be the same as the Archives, but perhaps this new island would fill up with more history in the days to come.

* * * 

Nuju had seen the peak of the icy mountain from the transport, and knew that was where he had to go. It was slow at first, having to make his way through the sticky, muddy jungle, but eventually he got to rockier terrain and the air temperature lowered comfortably. A chilling wind blew through him, and soothed the inside of his lungs. It was almost just like home. The winds picked up, however, and eventually he was being bombarded with snow. When it got too rough, Nuju used his powers to blow the ice crystals aside and form a tunnel of calm still air for himself.

The slope leveled out and he halted his progress to get his bearings. The peak of the mountain stretched far beyond even the spire of the Coliseum back on Metru Nui. Snow flurries spiraled about it in the chilly blue sky. Everything around him was blanketed in several feet of snow, including the entrance to a cave carved into the mountain itself. Nuju peered in, and was met with a large, long tunnel that extended to the other side. He emerged out of the other side, and was met with a large wall of rock, topped with ice. He could see the sky, but couldn’t feel the harsh wind. He could hear it, though. It howled like a mournful rahi beast. He decided he found the sound soothing. The ceiling-less cavern was the perfect haven for a village of Ko-Matoran.

Nuju went back the other way, and emerged once again in the place he was before, and noticed his tracks in the snow had already been covered up. The wind picked up again. Nuju stood before the cave entrance, and called forth large towering ice spikes on either side to mark the place where the new Ko-Metru will be built.

He glanced back up at the mountain’s great peak, and his mind flashed back to his time as a matoran in the Knowledge Towers. He suddenly remembered an old matoran friend of his, the one who taught him everything he knew. That friend had been killed in an accident while he was travelling in the chute system. A nui-jaga scorpion had torn a hole in the chute he was riding in, and he was thrown out of it. Nuju shook his head sadly, remembering that day being one of the worst of his life.

He looked up at the peak again. He gave it a small smile. “From now on,” he said aloud, “this shall be known as Mount Ihu, after the friend that was lost.”

* * * 

Onewa had made his way far north, stumbling upon a large expanse of desert. The terrain was marked by large rock formations. Further north still, there was less sand and more rock, which jutted upwards towards the sky. It was perfect for carving into a new Po-Metru. Onewa climbed up the rock, and looked all around. He could see the shoreline at the northernmost part of the island from here.

The wind blew the hot dry air around, kicking up dust storms. It certainly was a harsh place, but with hardy Po-Matoran at work, anything could be built into something magnificent. Onewa put his foot down, and slabs of rock rose from the ground, marking the future entrance of the new desert village.

He was surprised to find he wasn’t as sad and nostalgic as he thought he would be. He could never go back to Metru Nui, nor to his old district. But looking at the rough and untamed terrain stirred up excitement within him. It was a whole new project for him and the matoran, the greatest carving project he’d ever be a part of.

He left the rocky place and traversed the desert once again. A cave entrance caught his eye. He ducked into it, and peered into its black depths.

“Hello!” he called into it, and listened to the echoes. His voice reverberated again, and again, and again, for two very long minutes until fading away completely. Onewa used his old trick of listening to the stone in the wall, following it through the tunnel with his mind. When the tunnel kept going and going for miles beyond the island he decided to break his concentration.

The others should really take a look at this, he thought to himself, it feels like it could be important somehow. He began to make his way back to where the transport was docked, taking in the scenery as he went.

* * *

Vakama had begun walking up the rocky slopes away from the coast where they had landed. He could see the peak of the island’s volcano, and decided that’s where he’d begin his search for a location for the new Ta-Metru. He made his way through a forest of charred and blackened trees, up the rocky slopes. The temperature rose, and he stumbled upon the first of many bubbling pools of lava.

Vakama reached a lake, smoldering and flowing with lava. It was immense, and was tucked right up against the volcano. If he and the matoran could build a raised platform above the lava and a wall around it, it’d be the most reinforced village on the island. He took a mental picture of this place, filing it away for when he would return with the rest of the Ta-matoran. A dark entrance caught his eye, and he made his way towards it, walking across the lava lake by absorbing the heat. He released it back into the lake when he reached the other side.

The entrance led to a network of narrow tunnels, and he decided now wasn’t the time to explore it just yet. He had to get back to the others.

Just as Vakama was about to leave, a sharp pain exploded behind his eyes and his knees buckled under him. He fell to his hands and knees as his sight faded and a vision overtook his mind.

_He was standing in a void, feeling an overwhelming weakness overtake every muscle in his body. He tried to conjure up a flame to light the area around him, but nothing happened. Looking down at his hands, he gave a shout of surprise. They were withered and aged. His limbs felt so heavy, like gravity had become twice as powerful._

_In front of him was a stone, much like the one Lhikan had given him weeks ago. It began to glow bright red, humming with energy._

Vakama felt his mind get thrust back into the real world. The strength in his limbs had returned, and he could see his hands were normal again. In spite of the intense heat of the volcano, he shivered. His mind searched for the meaning of the vision. He was going to lose his Toa power? How? When?

He remembered what Lhikan had said back on Metru Nui. That his power now lived within the Toa Metru. Those stones they had all received held Lhikan’s Toa power! Perhaps the Toa Metru would have to do what Lhikan did, and pass on their power to a new generation of Toa one day. Vakama strode back over the lava lake, and began trekking back to the shoreline. He would have to tell the others about this.

* * * 

The six Toa Metru had managed to meet back at the transport, and tell each other of their travels and things they had discovered about the new island. Nokama had done some extra exploring since she had found her location so quickly, and suggested a location for a new Great Temple. She led them to a part of the forest located between the slopes of the volcano and the ocean. It was a wide grassy clearing, littered with immense boulders that could be used to build it. The others liked the idea and voiced their agreement.

As soon as that was settled, Vakama spoke up.

“I had a thought,” he started.

“A thought, or another vision?” Onewa said.

“What if, by chance, we happen to fail on our mission to bring the matoran here? There would need to be a way for a new generation of Toa to take our place,” Vakama explained.

“How could we do that?” Nokama asked. To answer her question, Vakama held out six stones he’d carved out himself.

“We channel a fraction of our Toa energy into these, and hide them here. That way, more Toa can take our place if need be.”

None of the other Toa said anything, and Vakama could tell they were doubtful of his words. But one by one they each took a stone from his hand. Each Toa Metru then closed their eyes, concentrating on channeling just a small amount of their Toa power into the stones. Vakama felt a bit of strength leave him. He opened his eyes, and could see that each one of their stones now glowed with the color of their respective element.

“Good,” he said, “now to hide them somewhere we could come back to later.”

Each Toa did as Vakama instructed, splitting up once again to hide the Toa stones. A few hours passed, and each made their way back to the transport that still sat upon the beach.

“Is everyone ready?” Matau called to the back of the transport.

“Yes, yes, let’s get moving already,” Nuju said impatiently.

“Okay, here we go, then!” Matau said, ignoring him. He pulled the lever to start the engine, and the vehicle sputtered weakly before going dead again. Matau frowned. He pushed it back and pulled harder, holding it down for a few seconds before letting it go. The vehicle roared a bit louder, but sputtered out again.

“Hey, what gives?” he said, throwing a bunch of switches and repeated the process of pushing and pulling. This time the transport didn’t make a sound. Matau pushed and pulled at the steering handles. They wouldn’t budge. He slumped back into the driver’s seat.

“You’ve gotta be kidding,” he said.

“What’s the holdup?” Vakama said, climbing to the front of the transport.

Frustration flaring up within him, Matau threw the lever roughly, and nothing happened. Vakama’s brow furrowed at the sight.

Just then, the vehicle roared to life, drove a few meters into the water, and then began to sink.

“Great, this is just great. What happy-cheer,” Matau said between his teeth, wrestling with the steering mechanism.

“Everybody, out!” Vakama ordered. Each Toa Metru leapt out of the vehicle. Matau switched off the engine and followed. Working together, Nokama pushed the water from the shore further out and Wheuna used the earth to move the transport onto the beach.

“Why did it lose buoyancy?” Nokama asked. Matau kicked at the sand in frustration.

“I don’t know. I was a test driver, not an engineer,” Matau said.

“What do we do now?” Nuju asked.

“I have an idea,” Onewa said from the back. All the Toa looked back at him.

“I found a tunnel up near in the northern desert. It goes south. _Really_ far south. I think it goes beyond the island.”

Matau glanced up at Vakama, whose face was hard as stone.

“Alright,” the Toa of Fire said, “Since we can’t drive, we’ll walk.”


	19. A Fallen Friend

The Toa Metru all made their way to the north of the island, led by Onewa. He stood by the entrance, and glanced back at his Toa team.

“Alright, does Mr. Night Vision want to take the lead?” he said to Whenua, half-smiling.

Vakama stepped forward, holding a few tree branches he’d picked up in the jungle. He lit them all with a small flame he conjured up. He handed one to Nokama, and one to Onewa.

“No need,” he said, “lead the way.”

Onewa glanced at Whenua, who shrugged. Onewa turned and stepped into the tunnel, his torch lighting the way. The six made their way through the cold tunnel, keeping conversations to a minimum, just in case they’d run into something nasty down there.

“This is just wonderful,” Matau said from the back of the line, “To think that we’re all underground again.”

“Quit complaining and keep moving,” Vakama snapped at him. Nokama turned to him, shooting a glare at him. The Toa of Fire either didn’t notice her expression or didn’t care. He pushed past her and kept walking. Nokama hesitated for a moment before following. She heard Matau mumble angrily to himself. Uncomfortable silence stretched out for far too long.

After what must have been an hour, Nuju broke the silence. “Onewa, I think you should check to see this really goes all the way to Metru Nui. Because if we hit a dead end—,”

“I agree with Nuju,” Vakama said, cutting the Toa of Ice short, “If we lose any more time it could mean the lives of the matoran.”

“Makuta’s quick-frozen,” Matau argued from the back, “He’s no danger-threat now, right?”

“Something else could come after the matoran,” Vakama said without looking back at the Toa of Air, “and something tells me Makuta won’t stay frozen forever.”

“Alright, alright,” Onewa said, sounding annoyed, “Give me a second. Whenua, hold this.” He handed the Toa of Earth his torch and crouched to the floor, listening to the stone. After a few minutes, he jumped up and drew his proto-piton.

“There are some rahi up ahead,” he said, and just as soon as the words left his mouth, a swarm of lava rats skittered past the six of them, chattering and squeaking in fright. They ignored the Toa Metru and kept running back into the darkness of the tunnel. Soon a few lava eels and even some small scorpions ran past as well. Everything then fell still, though the group could still hear the cries and growls of animals up ahead. Nokama withdrew her hydro blades, and saw that her Toa brothers had done the same.

The tunnel widened somewhat, and Nokama began to notice cracks in the walls and ceiling, with a familiar silvery substance leaking from them and dripping to the floor. She and her companions passed by some misshapen rahi corpses. Upon closer inspection, Nokama saw that they weren’t victims of injury, but malformations. There was a cluster of scorpions with limbs missing, or extra limbs growing out of strange places. The Toa passed by a dead kane-ra bull that had no legs. There was a lava eel with two heads. A strangled roar made the Toa Metru halt in their tracks.

A large muaka cat stumbled towards them, its teeth bared. Vakama got a firebolt charged up in his crossbow, but Nokama gently pushed his arm down.

“Let me handle this,” she said, approaching the beast. She heard its speech, a bit jumbled at first, but with some mental reassurance the muaka allowed her to touch its mind. After conversing with him, Nokama turned back to the other Toa.

“He says he means no harm to us,” she said, “But he’s panicked. He keeps telling me we need to turn back.”

The muaka snarled, and leapt past the Toa to run hurriedly back through the tunnel. Nokama’s Toa companions all looked uncertain, except for Vakama. His expression was steely and unconcerned.

“We’ll do no such thing,” he said, walking forward, “We have matoran to save.”

Nokama didn’t know what to say, but watched as Vakama brushed past her and kept walking, his way lit by a flame in his hand. Nokama sighed and followed, holding her own torch aloft.

Further still down the tunnel, the silvery substance began pooling on the uneven floor. Nuju accidentally stepped in one puddle, and cried out in pain. Nokama ran back to the group to help him.

“I should’ve known,” Nokama said, bending down to examining the Toa of Ice’s boot, which had a hole eaten through it.

“What is this stuff?” Matau asked.

“Energized protodermis,” Nuju answered before Nokama could, “The Ga-matoran labs have been trying to discover its properties and recreate it, to no avail.”

“That’s right,” Nokama said, standing to her full height, “We still don’t fully understand how it works, nor where it comes from. But it seems like beings that come into contact with it change form in one way or another, sometimes they increase in power.”

“So, if I were to quick-swim in this stuff, I’d turn into some kind of super-Toa?” Matau asked, reaching out to poke at a droplet hanging from the ceiling. Nuju caught his arm roughly and pulled it back.

“Only if it’s your destiny to do so,” Nuju stated firmly, “if it isn’t, you'll turn into something horrible. Or it’ll devour and dissolve your body completely.” Matau’s eyes widened, and dropped his arm. He gingerly began stepping around the silver puddles on the ground.

“If you’re all done with the lesson of the day, can we keep moving?” Vakama called to them from the front of the group, with clear and unrestrained annoyance in his voice.

“Hey, who died and made you Mata Nui?” Onewa protested, taking a step in Vakama’s direction.

“Nobody,” Vakama said, his voice still hard, “I simply want to carry out our mission. We can’t afford delays.”

Onewa snorted, but Vakama ignored him and kept walking.

Nokama felt sadness weighing on her chest. She watched Vakama walk ahead, so stiff and unfeeling. She sighed. As the others walked ahead, she lagged behind a bit. Whenua fell in line with her.

“Something troubling you?” he asked quietly so the others wouldn’t hear.

“Yes,” she answered outright, “it’s Vakama. I think Lhikan’s death affected him more than he’s caring to admit.”

Whenua looked up to the front of the group, where Vakama was still in the lead. He nodded. “It probably shook him more than the rest of us,” he faltered for a moment, reflecting on watching the light fade from the old Turaga’s eyes, “but now he’s overcompensating for the loss.”

“Yeah,” Nokama said sadly, “I just wish he’d go back to his old self.”

Whenua put a hand on her shoulder, smiling kindly. “He will. Once he’s sorted it all out in his mind, he’ll be fine. All we can do now is support him.”

“You’re right. Thanks,” Nokama returned the smile. They both picked up their pace to catch up with the others.

The tunnel widened, and its ceiling rose higher than before. Everything began to shake, just for a moment, then stopped. Then it shook again, then stopped. This went on for about a minute before Whenua voiced the concerns of them all.

“That’s not an earthquake…” the Toa of Earth’s voice trailed off, because Vakama had stopped walking and held his flame aloft. The Toa of Fire was face-to-face with an immense beast, one none of them had ever seen before. It had the head of a kane-ra bull, the torso of a muaka cat, the legs of a tarakava lizard, the stinger of a nui-jaga scorpion, and the insectoid wings of a nui-rama. It’s let out a snarl that seemed to vibrate the air itself. Onewa tensed all his muscles and held his proto-piton at the ready.

Nokama and Whenua had appeared by his side, also clutching their weapons. Onewa whispered to Nokama, “Hey, think you could translate what he’s saying?”

Nokama nodded, and squinted her eyes in concentration. The bizarre beast snarled again, and Nokama’s eyes widened. “It’s all gibberish.” Onewa’s shoulders sank.

“Great, so it’s a monstrosity _and_ it’s insane.”

“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again,” Matau said, “Bad things happen underground.”

The rahi reared up on its hind legs and roared. When it’s forelegs came back down, the whole tunnel shook. Without any more hesitation, the Toa Metru attacked.

Nuju froze its feet to the ground. Vakama hurled fireballs at it, while Onewa tossed rocks at it. Matau blasted it with a wind that could have toppled the Great Temple, but the beast simply stood there like it was nothing more than a light breeze. Nokama whipped the beast with water, making it roar again. The rahi broke its feet free from the floor and charged, and the Toa dove every which way to avoid it. Whenua brought a slab of earth from the ground beneath it, which struck it hard in the torso. The beast simply snarled, and shot its stinger tail in Whenua’s direction. It was swatted away by a boulder from Onewa.

Complete chaos erupted in the tunnel. The beast stomped about, leaving large cracked footprints in the stone floor. It shot its stinger every which way, narrowly missing the Toa. Onewa ducked as the stinger whistled past his ear. A cold sweat broke out on his neck. He tossed a few more boulders at it, but the beast shrugged them off. The beast began to swipe at them all with its front paws. It leapt over Vakama and Nuju, and swatted Whenua before the Toa of Earth could react. He slammed into the wall and slumped to the floor. Onewa ran up to him, trying to slap him awake, until the stinger struck the wall right next to him and his fellow Toa.

He slung more rocks at it, and a horrible realization struck him with the force of the beast’s stinger. The mad rahi was getting larger. With every elemental strike the Toa landed, the beast seemed to swell in size. Soon it would be so large it could block the whole tunnel. The rahi roared, and crouched to pounce on Matau, Vakama, and Nuju, but in desperation Onewa shouted at it.

“Hey, ugly! Come this way!” Onewa said, brandishing his weapon. The beast turned, and leered down at him. It swiped at him with its paw, and he smacked it out of the way with his proto-piton. The beast and the Toa sparred for a bit, before it managed to swipe Onewa so hard that his weapon was flung from his hands. Quicker than lightning, the beast landed another blow, knocking Onewa backwards into the wall of the tunnel. Nokama leapt in front of Onewa, and thrust a large wave that blew the monster back a few paces. She turned back to him, holding out her hand.

“Nokama, look out!” Onewa screamed, but the beast’s stinger was already whistling through the air and struck her in the center of her back. Nokama gasped, and pitched forward. Onewa caught her, and carried her out of the way as the other Toa kept fighting the beast back. Onewa caught a glimpse of Matau flying across the tunnel and hitting the ground hard.

Nokama coughed weakly, and Onewa’s attention was drawn back to her. The Toa of Water’s breathing was ragged. Onewa laid her gently on the ground and placed two fingers on her wrist, to find that her pulse was erratic. Fear and rage exploded in his chest. He gently laid her head on the stone floor, and rose up to face the massive rahi beast. He retrieved his weapon and charged at the monster, a primal scream escaping his throat. Just as the beast turned, he sliced its face with his proto-piton. The beast roared, blood dripping from the gash in its face and staining the stone floor. Onewa then triggered his kanohi, attempting to seize the beast’s mind.

_Fear me._

The rahi snarled, backing up a few paces. Onewa stepped forward, pushing his power further, trying to rip the monster’s insane mind into even smaller pieces.

_Fear me!_

Onewa tore through the fabric of the beast’s mind, and his own mind was bombarded by the pieces; blurred images and intense primal urges to destroy and kill. In his attack, he became lost in the madness, which mingled with his own rage against the beast. He unfortunately was so lost that he had no time to dodge. The rahi reared up on its hind legs and swept Onewa off his feet and across the tunnel.

The Toa of Stone hit the ground harder than he expected, and pain exploded inside him as he struggled to stand himself up again. He looked up at the beast’s large crazed eyes, tasting blood in his mouth.

“You malformed bastard,” he spat weakly, and the darkness of oblivion took over his mind.

Nuju saw it all happen, and forced his mind to calm even as he saw that all the Toa Metru were unconscious aside from him and Vakama. The Toa of Fire didn’t seem to notice their fallen comrades, and continued to blast the massive rahi beast with fire. Nuju took some deep breaths, forcing himself to come up with a plan. The rahi was much larger now than when they just encountered it, so their attacks were merely feeding it. So what could stop such a monstrosity?  
He scanned the area, looking for any kind of clue. Then he saw it. He dodged another blow from the rahi’s stinger, and he stopped again to stare at the beast’s footprints. There were ones from when it was smaller, and ones after it began to grow. All of the footprints were the same depth.

“Nuju, quit laying around and fight!” Vakama snarled at him. Nuju frowned at stood up, and began focusing his energy through his ice spike weapons. He blasted the rahi relentlessly with ice until the monster swelled up so much that it’s head nearly hit the high ceiling.

“You’re making it worse!” Vakama shouted, his back hitting the wall. The rahi’s stinger shot towards him. Instead of striking Vakama, however, the stinger seemed to pass straight through his chest harmlessly. Vakama’s eyes widened, and he looked up at the rahi beast. Nuju smiled to himself as the beast grew more, and at the same time continued to fade. Soon its form evaporated completely, like a wisp of smoke.

Vakama opened his mouth, no doubt to ask a question. Before he could, Nuju explained himself.

“It’s footprints were just as deep when it grew as when it was its original size. Our elemental energies fed it and made it grow larger, but its overall mass didn’t change. Eventually it’s molecules could do nothing but drift apart,” Nuju sheathed his ice spikes.

“Good thinking,” Vakama said. The two went to awaken their fallen comrades. Whenua and Matau had regained consciousness, and rose to their feet with their help. Nuju heard a gasp behind him, and turned to see Onewa, cradling Nokama in his arms. He, Vakama, Matau, and Wheuna ran up to him.

“What’s wrong?” the Toa of Fire asked.

Onewa looked up at the both of him, his eyes wide and sparkling with fear.

“Nokama’s dying!” he cried.

“What?” Matau cried, running to his side, “What happened?!”

“The s-stinger,” Onewa said, choking on his words slightly, “the stinger got her.”

No one said a word at first, but then Vakama stepped forward.

“Then there’s nothing he can do for her,” he said grimly, “We need to keep moving.”

“What?!” Onewa shouted, his eyes flashing, “Are you kidding me right now? Nokama is dying!”

“We don’t have an antidote. There’s no one on Metru Nui or back on the new island to help her. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do,” Vakama said. Onewa placed Nokama gently down, and unsheathed his weapon, holding it up to Vakama’s throat.

“So, you’re okay with our friend dying, is that it?” he snarled. Vakama’s stony expression was unchanged.

“I’m sorry she was hurt, I really am,” Vakama said, “But there are millions of matoran that still need our help. We can’t risk them falling to danger too, even if it means one of our lives.”

Onewa lowered his weapon, but swiftly punched Vakama in the face. He tried lunging again, but both Nuju and Whenua grabbed his arms to hold him back. Onewa spat on the floor, right in front of Vakama’s feet.

“What kind of unfeeling bastard are you? This is Nokama’s life! _Nokama’s!_ ” Onewa shouted.

“We should at least bring her back to the island and make her comfortable before she…” Whenua couldn’t muster up the rest of the sentence. His statement made Onewa stop struggling against his grip, and his shoulders slumped. He panted hard, his brown eyes still fixed on Vakama with pure rage. Whenua and Nuju let the Toa of Stone go.

Nuju stepped forward. “If we bring her back, she’d guaranteed to die. But we could possibly find a cure for her in the Knowledge Towers back in Metru Nui,” he turned back to Vakama, “There’s no reason to leave her behind.”

“Then let’s go,” Vakama said, still without any semblance of compassion. He walked ahead. Matau scooped Nokama up in his arms and followed the others. Onewa walked alongside him, his brow furrowed. Matau looked down at Nokama’s face, sweaty and twisted in pain. Her ragged breathing reached his ears. He felt a powerful surge of resolve in his chest. _I will protect her no matter what_ , he vowed silently.

* * *

The tunnel began to narrow, and by the light of Vakama’s flame and the single remaining torch that Onewa held, Whenua could see some strange moss growing all over the walls. He reached out to touch it, but it recoiled from his hand.

“That’s weird,” Whenua said. Onewa grunted in disgust as he brushed past some of the moss that dangled from the ceiling.

“What is this stuff?” Onewa asked.

“Can we not worry about weird plants right now?” Matau snapped, “Nokama needs our help.”

Up ahead, Vakama torched some of the moss, and it retracted, then vines erupted from it and wrapped themselves around his throat. The Toa of Fire choked, pulling at the vines. Nuju rushed over to help him, and after great effort they managed to break them off. Vakama gasped for breath.

“Is this…Morbuzakh?” he asked breathlessly. The tunnel vibrated slightly, and a cold whisper drifted towards the Toa.

“I’m what the Morbuzakh wishes it could be,” it hissed, laughing quietly. Vakama held his crossbow aloft. He turned to the other Toa and gestured with his head for them to keep moving. Onewa, Whenua, and Nuju withdrew their weapons, and Matau tightened his grip on Nokama protectively. The tunnel ahead was crawling with the greyish vines. They weren’t the same blackened ones the Morbuzakh had, but they were twisted-looking all the same. They writhed and interweaved with each other, forming a sickening web that blocked their progress through the tunnel.

Nuju threw his arms up, and all the surrounding plantlife was covered in a thick coating of frost. The plant laughed again, and flexed all of its vines. They shattered through Nuju’s ice like it was nothing.

“Like I said, I’m better than the Morbuzakh,” the hissing voice filled the tunnel, “You should know that by now, Nuju.”

“How—?” Nuju asked.

“I know all my enemies,” the plant said.

“We’ve never seen you before,” Onewa snarled, his grip tightening on his proto-piton.

The plant didn’t respond, instead it shot out its vines every which way, wrapping itself around the Toa Metru. Matau pulled against them, but he could feel his grip loosening from Nokama. The vines entrapped and pulled her away from him.

“Hey! Give her back!” Matau shouted, reaching out to her. The vines snaked around his arms and pulled them down, pinning them to his sides. Matau wriggled, but the vines’ grip only seemed to tighten.

“Allow me to introduce myself formally,” the plant hissed, and a vibration seemed to travel down the length of all its vines, like some sort of excited laughter. “My name is Karzhani.”

“Who named you after matoran hell?” Whenua asked, and the vines wrapped around his mouth, silencing him.

“My creator,” Karzhani said, “You know him well. In fact, I know that you’re the ones who trapped him.”

“Makuta,” Vakama breathed, “So you want revenge for your creator, is that it?”

Karzahni’s vines tightened around the Toa of Fire, who gasped out the rest of the air from his lungs.

“You idiot,” the plant snarled, another vibration traveling through its vines, “I want that pale bastard dead! But what did _you_ do? Trapped him! Somewhere I can’t reach! And for that, you all deserve death.” The vines that held Nokama lifted her up, as if the plant was examining her. “Oh, looks as though one of your little friends is already slipping away. That makes my job easier!”

“Leave her alone!” Matau shouted, and Karzahni wrapped vines around his mouth as well.

“Oh, Matau, I’m not going to do a thing to her. The poison will do that for me,” the plant said, then paused for a moment, “Although, I could use some help with something. And I’ll need all six of you for that.” He loosened all his vines, and placed all the Toa back on the ground. The vines dropped Nokama, and Matau ran to catch her in his arms.

“Tell you what. I’ll heal her temporarily. All of you do me a tiny favor, then perhaps I will give her the antidote. What do you say?” Karzahni said.

All the Toa exchanged looks with one another. Vakama stared at the plant with his steely expression.

“I say, it’s a deal,” Vakama said evenly.

“Are we all sure about this?” Onewa said.

“I’d say it’s worth a shot,” Whenua reassured him, “For Nokama’s sake.”

“Very well,” the plant said, “Matau, place her on the ground.”

Karzhani’s vines reached out for Nokama, but Matau backed away, clutching his friend closer to himself.

“Matau,” Vakama said firmly, “Do as it says.”

Matau’s brow was furrowed, but he complied, laying the Toa of Water gently on the ground in front of him. The vines twisted around each other, squeezing a silvery liquid from itself. The drops fell into Nokama’s mouth. She groaned, and began to stir. A gasp traveled amongst the Toa. Matau knelt beside her.

“How do you feel?” Matau said, reaching a hand out to her.

Nokama stood up and moved away from him, scanning the area. “Where did that rahi go?” she asked.

“That’s not important right now,” Vakama said. Nokama’s face wore an expression of pure confusion. The Toa of Fire addressed Karzhani once again.

“Alright, what is it that you need us for?” he said. When the plant began to speak, Nokama jumped, unsheathing her hydro blades and her gaze fixed on the strange vines all around them.

“It’s simple, for brave heroes such as yourselves,” the plant’s tone was mocking. All of Karzahni’s vines slithered towards a side passage in the tunnel. “You will follow this tunnel until you reach a cavern. You’ll get a sample of energized protodermis and bring it back to me. Then I can save Nokama.”

“Why don’t you do it?” Onewa said, who was still gripping his weapon.

“I’m rooted to this spot, you idiot!” All of Karzahnni’s vines seemed to shake with anger. Onewa frowned, and sheathed his weapon.

“We’ll go. But if you try anything—,” Vakama started. A vine slithered down and slapped him on the back of the head. “—Ow!”

Karzahni’s vines rustled as its hissing laughter filled the tunnel. “Oh, Vakama. What could you possibly do to me? But anyways, I know my word means nothing to you. I make no promises. If I get that protodermis sample, though…”

“Come on, everyone,” Nuju said, stepping into the side tunnel, “Let’s not waste any more time.”

* * *

As the Toa began their side journey, Onewa explained to Nokama exactly what happened to her and the massive rahi beast. Nokama looked at the grave expressions of her fellow Toa, and couldn’t help but be touched by their concern for her.

“What do you think it wants with energized protodermis?” Onewa asked her.

“Probably nothing good,” Nokama said.

“Yeah, I was thinking that too,” Onewa stared up ahead where Vakama had taken the lead again. His expression was dark, and Nokama wondered what had happened with Vakama while she was unconscious. Onewa felt along the stone wall, no doubt searching for a chamber Karzhani talked about. Whenua was staring at some of the bizarre carvings on the walls, depictions of malformed rahi and unfamiliar scratchings that could have been an ancient language. Nokama was curious about the language, but before she could focus her kanohi to translate it, Onewa called everyone over to him.

“There’s a cavern behind this wall!” he said. He drew a fist back, and punched a hole through it, large enough for each of them to climb through. Onewa cracked a smile. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” he said, brushing the dust off his knuckles.

Onewa was the first one inside, but before Nokama could ask what he saw, he staggered backwards, panicking and pulling at something that had latched onto his face. It was long, sluglike, a lot like a mix between a Borok’s krana and a Rahkshi’s kraata. It covered one of Onewa’s eyes, and seemed to be tugging at the skin on his forehead with tiny mandibles.

“Get it off! Get it off!” he screamed. He bumped into Nuju. “What is—,” Onewa stopped suddenly, and his uncovered eye became clouded and distant. “It’s them,” he droned.

“Them? Them who?” Nuju asked.

“They watch. They listen. They’re coming. It’s them,” Onewa said, his eye seemed to be staring into the unknown, completely unaware of reality.

“Who?” Nuju urged.

“V-v-visorak,” Onewa said, “Visorak! Visorak!” he shouted.

Nuju turned to Vakama, “Okay, I’ve heard enough. Get it off him.”

Vakama wordlessly focused a narrow jet of flame from his hand and burned the slug-creature off Onewa’s face without singeing him. Onewa’s eyes focused again, and he breathed heavily as if he’d run a mile. He leaned against the wall. Nokama placed a hand on his arm.

“Are you alright?” she asked. Onewa’s forehead was beaded with sweat.

“I’m-I-I’m fine…” he gasped, his fingers pressing into his right temple. He looked up at Vakama, his brown eyes wide, “Vakama, is this what your visions are like?”

A familiar expression crossed Vakama’s face. For a moment, he was back to his old self, reluctant and unsure.

“I guess so. Sometimes,” the Toa of Fire said.

“I’m so sorry,” Onewa said, his eyes full of sincerity, “I had no idea.” Vakama’s mouth formed a small smile, and Nokama felt a surge of relief.

“It’s okay,” Vakama said.

“What does ‘visorak’ mean?” Nuju asked.

“I don’t know…” Onewa said, wiping the sweat from his forehead, “…I didn’t get anything else.”

Nokama saw Whenua was still staring at a carving on the wall. It was a picture of what looked like a large spider of some kind. Without saying anything, Whenua rejoined the group. Vakama’s softened expression hardened once again.

“Let’s keep moving,” he said. They all stepped into the small chamber, which was littered with old, broken equipment of strange design. There were ancient, blackened containers scattered all over the floor. Whenua bent to pick one up. It was a small black vial.

“Now we just need the sample,” he said. 

The team followed the increasingly winding tunnel, and more panicked rahi ran past them. The animals didn’t pay them any mind, but their distress made all six Toa Metru uneasy. Finally they reached a dead end, and were faced with a large silver door. Vakama turned the handle, but as expected it didn’t budge. So the Toa of Fire melted a hole straight through the door and it swung open.

Inside was almost completely dark, aside from the torch Onewa held and the small flame in Vakama’s hand. The walls of the chamber were covered in carvings and writing that even Nokama couldn’t read. It must have been abandoned centuries ago. In the center of the chamber, four stone pillars surrounded a large silver pool of what had to be energized protodermis that was as still as glass.

“Easy as that,” Vakama said, taking the black vial from Whenua and bending down by the pool to scoop some out. His hand was mere inches away from its glassy surface, when a ripple traveled across the pool. The substance began to boil violently, and silvery tendrils erupted from its center. Vakama jumped back, clutching the vial in his fist. The tendrils twisted around each other, and morphed into a Toa-like form. The entity was mostly featureless, aside from its large silver eyes.

“Why do you seek to remove that which doesn’t belong to you?” The entity spoke without a mouth. Its voice was cold and emotionless.

“We only need a few drops,” Vakama said, “It’s for the sake of a friend.”

“What do you plan on doing with my substance?” the entity asked.

“It’s only for striking a deal,” Vakama reassured it, “I promise we only need a few drops.”

“A few drops or many, it matters not,” the entity said, “you still seek to rob me.”

“Can it, you shiny mud puddle!” Onewa stepped forward aggressively, “We only want to save our friend! Will a few less drops really kill you?”

The entity threw a stream of energized protodermis in Onewa’s direction. He leapt backwards just in time, and the ground where he stood sizzled and dissolved.

“You don’t truly understand the protodermis. Therefore you do not deserve to have it,” the entity said simply.

Nuju stepped forward, meeting the entity’s gaze with just as much coldness. “We are the Toa Metru. We seek to return to Metru Nui to save the matoran population. A few drops of your precious substance are all it will take to save them.”

The entity was entirely unimpressed. “What are the matoran to me? They are merely the living; I am life itself.” A small insect buzzed past the entity’s face, and it flicked a few drops of energized protodermis on it. The insect’s flight pattern was disrupted, and it began to drop, until it grew at least twenty times its original size. The massive insect buzzed about on wings that nearly spanned the entire chamber. Then it dove.

All six Toa Metru, weapons in hand, dodged and began attacking with their elemental powers. Unfortunately, the monstrous bug flitted about in the air, easily avoiding everything that was thrown at it. Whenua threw up a mound of earth, but it dodged just in time. Taking the opportunity, Nokama rushed forward, running up the mound Whenua had created and leaping at the insect.

She landed squarely on its back. The insect twisted and turned in its flight in an attempt to throw her off, but Nokama had slipped her hydro blade around its throat, effectively steering it. The bug spiraled down towards the energize protodermis entity, and it was struck by another blast of the substance.

Nokama leapt from its back as the insect crashed to the ground and dissolved into a puddle of goo in front of their eyes.

“It was not its destiny to change a second time,” the entity said, “What I begin, I can also end.”

“I’ve had enough of you,” Vakama said, aiming his crossbow at the entity’s head, “You’re just as arrogant and cold-hearted as your master Makuta.”

He seemed to have struck a nerve. A violent shiver shook the form of the entity.

“I have no master,” it hissed, “Don’t tempt my wrath, Toa. Or I can end you just as easily as that simple insect.”

“Yeah?” Onewa said, “What would you do if I did _this?_ ” The Toa of Stone swung his proto piton and shattered one of the stone pillars that surrounded the silver pool.

The entity thrust more liquid at him, but he dove out of the way. The substance hissed and ate away at the floor. Encouraged by Onewa’s action, all six sprinted around the entity. Nokama and Matau combined their powers to stir up a small rainstorm inside the chamber, complete with lightning. Nuju, Vakama, and Onewa ran in different directions, throwing rocks, flames and ice at the entity. Whenua shattered a second pillar, and the ceiling began to give.

Though strikes from the Toa didn’t harm it, the entity quickly became confused, twirling every which way. There was too much happening around it at once. Matau whooped in excitement, slicing the third pillar with his aero slicer. As the ceiling began to come down on them all, Vakama dove and scooped up a few drops of protodermis, and ordered them all to retreat.

All six Toa Metru ran from the chamber and back through the tunnel. Nokama could hear the protodermis entity scream in anger as the sound of rocks collapsing attempted to drown out its voice. As they ran back to where Karzhani was waiting, Nokama began feeling breathless and weak. She stopped running and sank to her knees, sweat pouring down her face and neck.

As she gasped for air, Matau ran to her side.

“Do you need help?” he asked worriedly.

Nokama was about to refuse him, but her whole body was wracked with a violent jolt of pain that traveled up her spine and spread out to her limbs. She began to collapse, but felt herself being caught by the Toa of Air’s firm but gentle grasp.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered, then shouted to the others, “Hey, Nokama’s getting the quick-fever again! We need to hurry!”

Nokama felt bad about Matau having to run for her, but she felt far too weak to move at all. She fought off unconsciousness as hard as she could. Finally they all reached the chamber Karzhani was in. The vines rustled in excitement.

“Ah, you all came back alive,” the plant said, “Well, mostly.”

“We have what you asked for,” Vakama said, holding up the vial, “Now give us the cure for Nokama.”

“Not so fast, Toa of Flames,” the plant hissed, “I’ll have to test out your little sample first. Can’t have you cheating your end of our bargain, right?” Its vines reached for the vial, but Vakama pulled it away. He tilted it slightly, a silvery drop dangling from the lip of the vial.

“I could test it out for you,” Vakama said.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Karzhani said, its vines rustling again.

“Give us the cure, and you get what you want,” Vakama said.

Karzhani seemed to hiss in frustration. “Fine, fine!” a small root grew from the ground right in front of Matau, who was still holding Nokama. “There,” the plant spat, “Eat that, and you’re cured.”

Matau placed Nokama gently on the ground in front of the root. With her last bit of strength, Nokama pulled it from the stony ground and placed it in her mouth. It tasted horrible, and she almost gagged. But it quickly dissolved, and strength flowed back into her limbs and the pain dissipated.

“Did it—?” Matau asked. Nokama nodded, smiling. Vakama smiled as well, and turned back to the vines that beckoned for the vial.

“Thank you,” the Toa of Fire said, holding up the vial once more, “Now you get yours.”

The grey vines snatched the vial and rustled in excitement. “At last,” Karzhani said, “With this I could even surpass Makuta! I could move from this spot and travel the universe! I could conquer many worlds, starting with yours!”

All the Toa stood in stunned silence as the vines dripped the silver liquid onto themselves and waited for their transformation. But it never came.

Instead, the vines began violently shuddering, and Karzhani began to scream in pain.

“It-it burns! Makuta’s eyes, it burns!”

Before the eyes of the six Toa the monstrous plant burst into flames from the inside out. It burned for about a minute before all the vines dropped limply to the floor. As it lay smoking, Karzahni spoke one last time, as if with a dying breath.

“I may have failed, but I want you six…to promise me…to end my creator’s existence. You don’t know what’s waiting for you back in your little home, and I can assure you that you won’t like it. F-farewell, you fools…” and the plant never stirred again.

The Toa Metru stood frozen, staring at the charred remains of one of Makuta’s hellish creations. Nokama knelt down and picked up a piece. It had hardened, and in bending it she discovered that it was incredibly durable and light.

“We could use this to repair the transport,” she suggested. The others agreed wordlessly and they all gathered up as much as they could carry.

The Toa returned to the transport, patching up holes, building a new back door and wrapping the Karzhani’s remains around the entire thing to restore its buoyancy. Matau took it out a few yards from shore to test it out, and sure enough, it floated. He returned to shore to pick up the other Toa.

Before boarding, Vakama took out his matoran tool and carved out a word on the transport. The other Toa stood back to look at his handiwork. When he was done, he stepped back. He turned to the others.

“It seems only appropriate to name it after him,” he said, and climbed up into the vehicle.

The others joined him. Nokama hung back for a moment. She smiled at the word that was carved with the care only a toolmaker like Vakama was would have implemented.

From then on, the transport was called _The Lhikan_.


	20. Homecoming

Nuju had begun to grow suspicious of peaceful moments. Ever since becoming a Toa, life had been all about chasing or running away from one disaster after another. Every time he and the others got a chance to breathe, more danger came barreling their way. Nuju knew he’d always miss the quiet and peaceful life as a Ko-matoran scholar, but he told himself there was no use dwelling on it. The past was in the past, after all.

Nuju thought ahead into the future. What did Karzhani mean about what they might find on Metru Nui? How long had they even been gone? He ran all the calculations in his mind. He deduced that it had been long enough since they escaped Metru Nui that anything could have happened there while they were gone.

The Toa of Ice sighed, glancing out the window of the transport. It had been several days since they set sail in _The Lhikan_ once again, heading for their homeland. Gentle rain pattered on the windows, a soothing natural melody. He allowed his mind to calm, figuring that even though he knew the peace wouldn’t last, it would be good for his health to relax while he could. He closed his eyes, and listened to the rain, and to the hushed conversations the other Toa were having amongst themselves.

Sure enough, he began to suspect the peace would end soon, because the rain began coming down harder and the wind picked up. _The Lhikan_ rocked more violently, and towering waves began swelling up before them. Nuju grabbed hold of a handhold on the side of the transport.

Up in the front in the driver’s seat, Matau was wrestling with the controls while Vakama hovered over him.

“Swerve right, there’s a wave coming up!” Vakama barked, and Matau pitched the transport to the side. Everyone, including Nuju tumbled to the left.

“Ah, wait! Go left!” The Toa of Fire shouted.

Everyone tumbled to the right.

“Up ahead! Get over this swell!”

Matau jammed his foot onto the gas and everyone fell backwards. _The Lhikan_ sailed over a growing mountain of water, and fell through open air for a moment before crashing back down onto the surface. Nuju hit his head on the ceiling, grunting in pain and annoyance.

“Go that way! No, the other way!” Vakama pointed this way and that. Matau wrenched the steering handles violently.

“Make up your damn mind!” The Toa of Air shouted at Vakama.

“I said, the other way!” Vakama reiterated.

“Maybe _you_ should drive, fire-spitter!” Matau spat.

Nuju was starting to feel sick. _The Lhikan_ jolted and lurched this way and that, while Nuju and the rest of the Toa Metru clung onto whatever they could inside the transport to avoid tumbling over each other. Soon the thunder outside was so loud even the sound of Vakama barking orders at Matau was drowned out. Nuju took a moment to look outside, and felt all his innards sinking at the sight of the immense wave surging towards them from the side. He scrambled to the cockpit of _The Lhikan_ to warn Matau and Vakama, but the wall of water slammed into them, and all the windows broke.

Water gushed in and soon the Toa Metru were all up to their necks in it. Nokama used her powers to try and push the water back out, but another wave came and _the Lhikan_ tipped over completely. Nuju lost all sense of direction for a moment as he was completely submerged. He felt with his hands, and found the jagged edges of a broken window. Even though the glass cut into his hands, he pulled himself out through the window, and desperately clawed for the surface.

He emerged, gasping for air. He struggled to tread water, wishing for just a moment that he was a Ga-Matoran. Nuju could hardly see; his eyes burned from the salt water and the rain was still coming down in sheets. The one thing he could make out was another gigantic wall of water rising up to greet him.

_So, this is how I die_ , he thought, _I never would have predicted it._

* * * 

With one last push, Onewa managed to shift the rubble off himself. He sat up, groaning, his legs still trapped.

“Well, that sucked,” he grumbled, rubbing out the cricks in his neck. Next to him, Nuju rose from another pile of debris, dripping with mud. The Toa of Ice coughed and spat, wiping the muck from his eyes.

“It seems there was an error in our transport. _Pilot_ error,” he said coldly.

“Hey!” Matau shouted, sticking his head out from the muddy shattered remains of the cockpit of _The Lhikan_ , “I was only order-taking! Vakama was the one order-giving!”

Nokama sloshed to the shore beside him, looking strangely elegant despite her being coated in mud. “No need to be critical, Matau,” she said, “Regardless of how gracefully, we made it here.”

“Whatever,” Matau said, and began wriggling under the rubble. “Hey, could, uh, someone dig me up?”

Whenua’s power drill weapons appeared from nowhere and knocked the debris out of the way. Now freed, Matau stood up, dusting himself off.

“Thanks!” he said.

“It’s what I do,” Whenua said.

Onewa lifted the rest of the rubble off his own legs and pushed himself to his feet. Up ahead on the rocky shore, Vakama stood on a hill, overlooking them all.

“Are we going to stand around all night?” the Toa of Fire said, “Or are we going to rescue the matoran?”

The Toa Metru began their journey to the Coliseum. From what they could see from the shore, the main spire still stood tall, but parts of the great walls had crumbled. And they soon discovered that it was a lot better off than the rest of the city.

Metru Nui couldn’t have looked more different to any of them. The gleaming structures were now run down and broken. There was not a single un-shattered pane of glass within sight. The streets were cracked and broken up. There were scorch marks on every surface. Rubble was piled up on every corner. Everything was also covered in sinewy, greenish webbing.

Matau looked up at the darkened sky. Heavy clouds still hung over the city as if Makuta was still up in the Coliseum, and the air was thick with smoke and fog. He sniffed the air, and quickly regretted it. The whole place smelled of decay and wild rahi.

“What’s with all the webs?” he asked. The other Toa remained silent, probably as clueless as he was. The group halted as the bellow of a distant rahi reached their ears. Matau was about to open his mouth to say something, when the shape of a winged rahi he didn’t recognize swooped low over him and the others, disappearing into the dark sky. Its screech echoed off the shattered buildings.

“What was that?” Nokama said.

Matau instinctively drew closer to the others, feeling exposed. Clustered together tightly, the Toa Metru continued to traverse the ruined road to the Coliseum. They all halted again when a herd of kane-ra bulls stampeded past in a panic. Off to Matau’s left, a huge lava eel slithered by, leaving a scorched trail in its wake.

“Well, there goes the ol’ neighborhood,” Matau said.

“The Archives must have been breached,” Whenua said grimly.

“What did you have in there?” Onewa asked, shivering slightly.

“Every rahi species ever discovered,” said Whenua, “Most of them dangerous.”

“What about the webs?” Vakama asked.

“Visorak,” Whenua said. Five pairs of eyes turned to look at him.

“You mean like what Onewa said, back in those tunnels?” Nuju asked, his blue eyes wide, “What are visorak?”

“Nasty creatures,” Whenua said, looking up at the green webbing strung overhead.

“If you know what they are, why didn’t you say anything before?” Vakama demanded. Whenua sighed, and met the Toa of Fire’s hard gaze.

“Because I hoped they were still just a legend,” he said, “I’d only read stories and documents of them in the Archives, but no one had ever managed to capture a live specimen. They’re not even native to Metru Nui.”

All the Toa Metru were silent for a moment. Matau shivered as a stiff cold breeze blew by them.

“What does this change?” Nokama asked.

“Nothing!” Vakama scoffed, walking ahead of the group, “We go to the Coliseum, we rescue the matoran, and we leave.”

Whenua let out a short breath. “Or we get pulverized,” he said.

“It is a possibility,” Nuju said, his eyes full of worry.

“We faced _the_ Makuta and won!” Vakama insisted, “I really doubt a few crusty relics are going to give us much trouble.”

Everyone remained silent. Matau felt fear rising in his throat, and he could feel hundreds of eyes on his back.

“Follow me,” Vakama said. He only took one step towards the Coliseum when he was struck with a blast of greenish energy. He was paralyzed on the spot.

Before any of the other Toa had time to react, they were quickly struck with the same type of energy. Matau felt the jolt of pain travelling through him, and felt his muscles lock in place. Panicked, his mind screamed at his body to move, but it simply couldn’t. His heart pounded furiously in his chest.

“This is gonna hurt,” he groaned. Though he didn’t know what exactly was coming for him and his companions, he knew that it couldn’t be good in any sense of the word.

“I can’t—,” Whenua started, but in his current state he was unable to stop himself from toppling to the ground like a stone statue. Each of the other Toa fell also. Matau landed straight on top of Vakama, who grunted in pain from the impact. They all lay in a heap, each still unable to move.

“Is everyone…okay?” Vakama grunted.

“Yeah, we’re right behind you, fearless leader!” Matau said, his sarcasm in full force.

“Bickering won’t get us out of this, Matau,” Nokama scolded, though her voice was strained from the pain.

“No,” Matau agreed, his anger flaring up, “but think-talking before charging straight into a trap might have!”

“If you have something to say, Matau, say it!” Vakama snapped.

“Forget it!” Matau shot back.

Strange hissing and faint screeches echoed in the foggy streets, causing them both to fall silent. Matau’s eyes darted about, his breathing becoming shorter by the minute. In the distance, dark jagged shapes began to materialize above the debris.

“Wh-what was that?” Onewa asked, panic in his voice.

“Oh, dear Mata Nui,” Nuju gasped.

One of the shapes in the distance reared up, and let out a chilling screech. Several others joined in, and soon the air was full of an unearthly chorus of noise. The forms stepped out of the fog and within the view of the helpless Toa. They were large, four-legged spiderlike creatures, with glowing greenish eyes and impossibly sharp-looking mandibles. The armor-plated monsters hissed and snapped at their prey, closing in quickly.

“Let me guess,” Matau laughed nervously, his pulse racing faster, “Visorak?”

“Yeah,” Whenua said, “or in their tongue: the stealers of life.”

“Do they even have tongues? All I see are teeth!” Onewa cried over the hellish din of screeching. The visorak scuttled in closer around the Toa Metru. Their mouths dripped with greenish fluid.

“Vakama, what should we do?” Nokama whispered desperately.

Vakama didn’t answer. Matau squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to look at the gnashing, dripping mouths looming closer and closer. The Visoraks’ mandibles bit through his armor and pierced skin. He and his companions screamed in pain, and the world went dark.


	21. Toa No More

When Vakama woke up, he could see the cold daytime sky above him, and his entire body hurt. Not to mention, he was wrapped up tight in a cocoon of the Visorak’s greenish webbing. There was a small opening in front of his eyes, and wished he couldn’t see that he and his companions were now dangling from a large web hundreds of thousands of feet in the air above the Coliseum. He struggled against his bonds, to no avail. He could feel a burning sensation in his side where the spider creatures had bitten him earlier. He could hear the grunts of his companions as each of them squirmed in their own cocoons.

“Well, fire-spitter, we can’t say you didn’t show us the city!” Matau said angrily. Vakama could see the Toa of Air struggling against his cocoon just a few feet away from him. “Of course,” Matau continued, “we _can_ say you got us all captured! And seeing as I don’t think they brought us up here for the view, imminently smash-dashed! All in all, great job!”

Matau’s sarcasm stung more than he’d expected. Vakama was just getting used to his role as a leader, and look where it got them.

Onewa was shouting angrily, but it was muffled since the webbing of his cocoon covered his mouth.

“He agrees,” Matau said, jerking his head in Onewa’s direction.

“This is not Vakama’s fault!” Nokama shouted from her cocoon. Matau scoffed, and rolled his eyes.

Vakama felt a heaviness in his chest, intermingled with the burning sensation that was growing in intensity with every passing minute. He heaved a sigh.

“I tried to lead you all the best I could,” he said, not caring if anyone was listening or not, “I just wish I was better at it.”

He saw Matau open his mouth, no doubt to retort his statement, but instead a strangled cry of pain escaped the Toa of Air’s throat. He struggled in his cocoon more violently as spasms wracked his body.

Vakama began to feel it too. The burning intensified tenfold, and every muscle seemed to twist around themselves. Jolts of electricity seemed to travel through every nerve ending, and Vakama could no longer stop himself from screaming in pain as well. He could hear the screams of Nokama, Onewa, Nuju, and Whenua begin soon afterwards.

Vakama’s mind became a jumbled mess; all rational thought twisted and folded in on itself, lost to the visceral pain that wracked every fiber of his being. It was as if his limbs, along with his fingers and toes, were being stretched and the bones were being pulled out of their sockets. The edges of his vision darkened, and he felt himself slipping back into unconsciousness, though the pain didn’t fade in the slightest.

Suddenly the bonds of the cocoon exploded off him, and Vakama’s heart flew into his throat. The realization that he was now falling hundreds of thousands of feet struck him, and he began screaming. His vision began to darken again, knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop his body from exploding against the ground far below.

Just as he was about to accept his fate, Vakama felt something yank him out of his fall, and he felt himself being carried through the air. Something, or perhaps someone, was tightly gripping him under his arms, but he couldn’t see who or what it was.

Still struggling to stay conscious, Vakama looked down at himself, feeling a fresh wave of fear and revulsion. One hand had been stretched beyond its original shape, and ended in sharp claws. His arms were rough and scaly. His other hand was missing; in its place, the metal of his crossbow was melded with his flesh. His clothes and armor were tattered. He felt sick.

“What’s happened to me?” he asked. Whoever was carrying him didn’t say a word.

“Answer me,” Vakama said, with a flash of anger, he added, “I am a Toa!”

The mysterious entity that carried him through the sky chuckled, and in a slightly raspy but wise and earthy voice, it said, “Not exactly.”

* * *

Matau’s eyes flew open. For a few long minutes all he could see were fuzzy shapes and smudges of color. He blinked a few times, and everything cleared up. His entire body ached, like he’d run hundreds of miles then got mauled by a muaka cat. He pushed himself to his feet, and started to sway to the side. He regained his balance, and began to walk.

His body didn’t feel right, never mind the pulsing headache behind his eyes. But when he walked, it was like his limbs were too long, and that his spine was lopsided. He lifted his head, and the daylight burned into his retinas. Squinting, Matau took in his surroundings.

He was somewhere near Ga-Metru, in a ruined courtyard. The center was occupied by a large fountain that had moss growing all over it. More greenish webs were strung along the surrounding stone wall. Aside from the calls of strange rahi and his own shuffling, awkward footsteps, it was quiet.

“Hello? _Hello?_ ” he called, his voice hoarse.

The only reply he got was more wild rahi calls in the distance. Matau groaned, rubbing his temples with one hand. His foot hit a chunk of protruding sidewalk and he stumbled a few feet before falling face first into the fountain. He groaned, and pulled himself back out. Then he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the water.

When he leaned in closer, he let out a cry of disgust. Finally, Matau looked down at himself.

“What the hell?!”

His skin was scaly and one of his hands had claws. His other hand was missing, and in its place was what looked like a distorted version of one of his aero slicers. His armor and clothes were tattered and dirty. He looked down at his reflection again, panic rising in his throat. The face that stared back was nearly unrecognizable.

His eyes had taken a more reptilian shape, and his pupils were now slits. His face and jaw had elongated slightly, and in his mouth was a row of unsettlingly sharp teeth. His reddish hair was ruffled and fell into his eyes. His nose had narrowed, and his nostrils were now slits.

Rage, fear, and anguish all surged within him, and he slapped the surface of the water with his weapon-hand, distorting his reflection even more. He put his head in his hands.

“No, no, that can’t be me,” he muttered, “I can’t be ugly.”

The sound of footsteps reached his ears, and it made him jump several feet in the air. He held his weapon-hand aloft, picking up a familiar scent, mixed with something else.

Someone was behind him, Matau whirled in a panic. Something caught his arm, and suddenly he was face-to-face with Nokama. He felt a strange mixture of sadness and relief to see that her face and body had gone through similar changes to him, though her face was scalier, like a fish. He had to admit, she still looked better than he did now.

“Nokama?” he said. The Toa of Water breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness you’re alright,” she said. The other four Toa stumbled into the courtyard from different directions. They were all twisted and mutated as well.

Anger flared up within him again. “Alright?” he shoved his weapon-hand in her face, “You call _this_ alright?!”

“Matau, everything is going to be okay. We’re all here.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. Normally her touch was all he needed to feel better, but it didn’t work this time. She noticed his worried expression, and smiled with her new sharp-toothed mouth. “We’ll find a way out of this.”

“Yeah, as long as we stick together,” Whenua said from the back of the group.

Matau shifted his gaze to Vakama, who hadn’t said a word as of yet.

“I don’t hear _you_ saying that, smelt-head!” he snapped, getting right in the Toa of Fire’s mutated face. “What’s the matter?” Matau continued, “Too busy cooking up another master plan?!”

“I’m through making plans,” Vakama said through his pointed teeth.

“Well, that’s the first good thing I’ve heard since I’ve been hideous!” Matau said, laughing mockingly.

Nuju stepped between them. “Regardless of how we look, it might be better to use our energy to find out why we’ve become…whatever it is we are.”

“That’s right,” Nokama piped up, “The sooner we do that, the sooner we can rescue the matoran!”

“Don’t look now, but we’re the ones who need saving,” Matau said.

“If you want to be your old selves again, you’ll listen to what I have to say,” a light yet gravelly voice said. All the mutated Toa Metru looked about until all six pairs of eyes fell on the strange being sitting on top of the tallest statue in the fountain.

He wasn’t as tall as a Toa, though not small enough to be a Turaga or a matoran. His reptilian features were weathered, though not nearly as much as a village elder. He did wear strange clothes and makeshift armor, and had a metal contraption protruding from his back that looked like a propeller. Parts of his skin were scaly, and formed strange patterns around his arms and on his neck. His teeth weren’t nearly as sharp as the newly mutated Toa, but his canines were extra-long and pointed.

“I know, I know,” he said, though no one had said a word to him yet, “I know what you’re thinking. ‘Who’s the freak?’ Well, from one freak to another, I’m here to help. You guys had a run-in with the visorak. That’s rough. Just wait until you see their _viceroy_.”

All the Toa glanced at each other, dumbfounded.

“I’m sorry, ah, who are you exactly?” Nokama asked.

“Ah, forgive my rudeness,” the stranger said, cracking a crooked grin, “Allow me to introduce me and my friends.”

Five more strangers popped out from behind the surrounding statues. All were similarly mutated as the first, and all wore strange dirty armor that looked as if they were made from scrap metal. All of them also had the strange contraptions attached to their backs. They all emerged from the fountain and stood in a line. The one sitting atop the tallest statue leapt down, and the propeller on his back extended upwards and whirred to life. He flew himself gently to the ground, landing right next to his companions.

“My name is Norik,” he said and gestured to the others, “This is Gaaki,” the one wearing blue underneath her armor gave a slight bow of the head, “And that’s Bomonga,” the black-clad one nodded, “Kualus,” the one in white bowed, “Pouks,” the one wearing brown waved hello, “and Iruni,” the one wearing green jerked his head, tossing his shaggy hair out of his eyes.

The six Toa reluctantly waved to the strange group.

“Now then, I think we should have a little chat,” Norik said airily.

* * *

Nokama lumbered awkwardly after her fellow Toa, each of which was having great difficulty adjusting to their new bodies. Onewa tripped several times, and ran into Matau more times than Nokama could count. Nuju kept veering to one side, while Whenua tried walking with all four of his limbs. Vakama was having the least trouble of all of them; he looked as if he were stalking an unseen prey. Nokama herself couldn’t manage to keep good posture anymore, and had to settle with walking hunched over like a beast.

Norik led them to another part of Ga-Metru. Nokama saw the familiar canals and streams that ran through here, rendered almost unrecognizable due to decay and general destruction. Norik and his companions settled down in a spot between some broken drainage pipes. Norik sat on one of the pipes, and gestured to the Toa.

“Come, have a seat!” he said. Distant sounds of rahi tingled in Nokama’s ears, and she could smell so many different scents around the area.

“Is this place safe at all?” she asked, warily scanning the area.

“No place is safe from the Visorak,” Iruni spoke up. His voice was slightly raspy, like he hadn’t used it in a while.

“But,” Norik cut in, “this place is the _safest_.”

The six Toa reluctantly took seats opposite the strange newcomers. Norik placed his hands on his knees and leaned forward.

“Now then, I’m open to questions,” he smiled his crooked smile.

The Toa all looked at each other, too confused to know where to begin. Nokama glanced sideways at Vakama, who was staring off into the distance. She decided to take the lead in this instance.

“So,” she said, her voice nearly faltering. Her mind was cluttered with enhanced sounds and scents, making it hard for her to focus. She managed to finish her question, “What are we now?”

“Hordika venom courses within you,” Norik said, his voice getting serious, “If it isn’t neutralized, it will take root. And Hordika you will be… _forever_.”

A chilling breeze seemed to sweep through the group.

“Like…you?” Nuju asked.

“I’m a Rahaga,” Norik said, gesturing to his companions, “we all are.”

“What’s the difference?” Onewa said.

“You bunch were bitten by Visorak,” Norik explained, “We were all personally attacked by their viceroy. Now that I think about it, I’m not so sure which is worse. But anyway, basically what it all boils down to is that you are now a monstrous mixture of Toa and rahi beast.”

“So, what do we do?” Nokama asked, feeling panic creeping into the edges of her mind, “How can we go back to being Toa?”

Norik smiled, and leaned forward again. “Keetongu,” he said with an air of mystery in his voice. Nokama saw Iruni crack a sarcastic smile and roll his eyes.

“The key to Nongu?” Onewa asked, pure confusion on his face.

“No, no, _Keetongu_ ,” Norik said excitedly, “A noble and powerful creature, skilled in the ways of venoms. Not to mention, our only hope in standing against the Visorak horde.”

Nokama rose from her seat. “Rahaga,” she said, “Could you take us to this ‘Keetongu’?”

Iruni burst out laughing. Norik gave him a stern look, and a quick slap to the back of his head. Iruni shot a glare at his companion.

“I don’t…understand,” Nokama said, looking to Norik for an explanation.

“What my friend so inappropriately suggests, is that this will be difficult,” Norik said, “We Rahaga came to Metru Nui in search of Keetongu ourselves. The only trouble is there are those that, well, doubt his existence entirely.”

“And for good reason,” Iruni muttered. Norik ignored him.

“And what about you?” Nuju asked.

“I believe,” Norik said.

“Then we should too,” Nokama said.

“Woah, there,” Matau said, putting a hand on her shoulder, “Shouldn’t we think-talk about this? You know, group-like?” He turned to Vakama, his tone darkening, “What do _you_ think, face-melter?”

Vakama was busy summoning flames from his warped weapon-hand. “I say, we go to the Coliseum to rescue the matoran, not go hunt some mythical rahi,” he said without looking up.

“Sure, sure,” Norik said, jumping down from the pipe and walking up to the mutated Toa of Fire, “You do that, with your new Hordika powers.” Norik blew a puff of air, extinguishing the flame on Vakama’s weapon. “Powers you have not yet learned to use,” Norik added, sounding like a Turaga scolding a runaway matoran.

Vakama snarled at Norik, just like an animal. He turned and climbed over the pipes, leaving the area.

“Vakama!” Nokama said. But the Toa of Fire didn’t answer, and disappeared into Ga-Metru.

Norik stared after him. He turned to Nokama and said, “I will talk with him.”

* * * 

Vakama could hardly think straight. He was being surrounded by so many scents and noises at once, and on top of that he was full of violent urges to tear something apart. As he stalked through the darkening streets of the ruined Ga-Metru, he desperately tried to sort out a plan to get the matoran out of the Coliseum, all while his heightened animalistic senses became increasingly more distracting.

Footsteps crept behind him. He froze in place, sensing a pair of eyes on his back. Vakama sniffed the air, and a musky scent drifted towards him. He whirled, and came face to face with a lone muaka cat. The beast snarled at him, and jumping back and falling to all fours, Vakama snarled back. The muaka took a step towards him, and as paranoia began to tighten its grip on him, Vakama snarled louder. The muaka hesitated.

Vakama let out another growl, but this time flames leapt from his mouth. The muaka shrank back, and with a soft hiss it slunk away behind some ruins. Vakama panted hard.

“What was…that?” he wondered aloud.

“It meant you no harm,” a gravelly voice said behind him. Vakama turned and saw Norik walking towards him. Vakama frowned.

“I beg to differ,” he said.

“It was just frightened,” Norik said pleasantly, “Muaka are loners by nature. There’s a bit of them in you now.”

Vakama didn’t know what to say, and continued staring at Norik, wondering just what this stranger was up to.

“And that fire breath of yours,” Norik said, “You should be more careful with that.”

Vakama felt a growl in his chest beginning to escape his throat, and turned to walk away.

“Hold on, what are you planning to do?” Norik said.

Vakama stopped, searching his own mind for the answer to that question. His mind was so muddled, that he’d forgotten where he was going and why he was so angry. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s rejoin the others, huh?” Norik encouraged.

“The others,” Vakama sniffed, “right…”

“They’re your friends, are they not?” Norik said. Vakama didn’t say a word. “Come on,” Norik repeated, “Toa teams need to stick together.”

Norik led Vakama back to the site where the other Toa and Rahaga were still sitting among the broken drainage pipes. Vakama sat next to Nokama, who gave him a strange, sharp-toothed smile. He couldn’t bring himself to return it.

“Now then,” Norik addressed them all, “We have some work to do before we begin the search for Keetongu.”

“What work?” Onewa asked.

“You see, we Rahaga have been in Metru Nui a long time, living in the deepest recesses of the Archives. We came here not only to cure our own mutations, but also to protect something of great importance.”

“Well? What is it and what do we need to do?” Nuju demanded, sounding more annoyed than usual.

“Patience,” Norik said to him, “This is something that can save our world if a dark time falls. The Stone of Light.”

All the mutated Toa looked at each other. Vakama mostly stared at the ground, distracted by small insects crawling along the cracked pavement.

This time, it was Norik’s companion Gaaki that spoke. Her voice was also a bit rough, but it carried a lot of wisdom at the same time, “This artifact is meant to bring about the appearance of a Toa of Light, who’s destiny will be to face Makuta in a battle which would lead into a great migration of the matoran back to their homeland.”

Another Rahaga, the one named Bomonga added, “We were all once Toa. Our job was to protect this stone with our lives.”

Iruni spoke next, “We served the Brotherhood of Makuta, that is, before they all turned into power-hungry scumbags and began enslaving matoran instead of protecting them like they were supposed to.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Matau said, blinking, “Could you repeat all of that? The Brotherhood of Makuta? A rock that’ll save us from dark-time? What is all this crazy-speak?”

“There will be plenty of time to answer all those questions later,” Norik said, “For now, we need to get started. We’ll split up into teams, one Toa and one Rahaga, and go to each Metru.”

“Each of us hid a key to the Stone of Light in each district,” Iruni added, “We’ll retrieve those, and we’ll all meet back at the Archives to unlock its hiding place. Then you’ll have to take it away from Metru Nui along with all the matoran.”

“I have a question,” Whenua said, raising his hand as if he were in a Ga-Metru classroom, “How are we going to move all the matoran to the new island? I mean, it’s a lot to carry, isn’t it?”

Norik cracked another crooked smile. “My friend, we are way ahead of you. You see, while we were hiding from the population of this city, we observed what the false Turaga Dume was doing to the matoran, so we’ve been building transport vehicles for this very occasion.”

All the Toa except Vakama breathed in awe in unison.

“What the hell are you guys?” Onewa said, laughing.

“Just some freaks here to help,” Norik answered, grinning from ear to ear.


	22. Another Scavenger Hunt

Nuju felt saddened at the state of his beloved Ko-Metru. Barely half of the Knowledge Towers were still standing, and the visorak’s green webbing stretched between them, ruining their pure, clean look. He awkwardly stumbled after the Rahaga named Kualus, who kept glancing skywards whenever a flock of birds flew by.

“Ah,” the stranger said, stopping in his tracks and staring upwards, “Aren’t they magnificent?”

Nuju felt annoyance flare up inside him, “I guess,” he mumbled.

“I ought to say hello,” Kualus said, and activated the propeller on his back.

“Wait, what—,” Nuju didn’t finish, as the Rahaga flew up to the flock. With his newly enhanced hearing, Nuju could pick up strange clicking and whistling sounds coming from Kualus’s mouth. The flock of birds circled back towards the Rahaga, and they all chirped in response. Kualus nodded his head, whisted one last time, and flew himself back down to where Nuju stood. The mutated Toa of Ice stared at him, incredulous.

“What the hell was that?”

“Language of the fliers,” Kualus said matter-of-factly. He continued on his way, and Nuju reluctantly followed.

“So, what did they say?” he asked.

“They said the coast is clear,” Kualus answered, “No Visorak here yet.”

“Okay,” Nuju said. The two walked in silence for another few minutes before they reached the outer limits of the district. Kualus stopped in front of a particular Knowledge Tower, and promptly began to climb. Nuju stared up at him.

“Why bother climbing when you can fly?” he said.

“Because it’s fun,” Kualus answered, “plus it’s good exercise. Come on, Toa of Ice, the air is great up here!”

Nuju rolled his eyes and began climbing. One of his hands had been replaced by a warped version of one of his ice spike weapons, and it made a climbing much easier. Nuju also noticed that his monstrous form was just a touch stronger than his Toa form, so scaling a vertical wall felt effortless.

“Here!” Kualus cried, pointing at the wall. Nuju climbed up next to him, and saw that a small, geometric stone was frozen into it. Nuju chipped away at it, and pulled it free.

“We have our key,” Kualus said, smiling.

“Good, now let’s go,” Nuju said. He barely made a move to begin the climb back down when the Knowledge Tower began to shake.

Nuju felt his weapon hand slip, and he began a long fall. All in a matter of seconds, he heard Kualus let out a screech and click his tongue a few times, and a group of rahi ice bats swarmed around him and caught him, lowering him gently to the ground. Above, on the Knowledge Tower, Kualus threw himself from the wall, and used his propeller to fly himself back to the ground.

“Thanks,” Nuju said.

“Don’t thank me, thank them,” Kualus said, gesturing to the flapping, circling, ice bats above them. “Go ahead, say thank you.”

“Um, thanks,” Nuju said, looking up at the bats.

“Say it properly,” Kualus scolded, “Click your tongue twice.”

“Why?” Nuju demanded.

“Because it’s only polite.”

“They’re just stupid birds.”

“No, they’re rodents. There’s a difference,” the Rahaga said, annoyance growing in his voice. He stared hard into Nuju’s icy blue eyes, “And they’re much more intelligent that you give them credit for.”

Nuju sighed, trying to calm the annooyance building inside him. He looked up at the swirling cluster of bats. Taking a deep breath, he clicked his tongue twice. In response, the bats made clicking sounds of their own, and flew off into the sky.

“What did they say?” Nuju asked.

“They said ‘you’re welcome,’” Kualus said, his voice more even.

They began walking in the direction of Onu-Metru. Nuju found himself looking back up at the birds and bats that flew above them. Kualus seemed to notice this out of the corner of his reptilian eye, and cracked a smile.

“The language of the fliers is a beautiful kind of communication. No lies, no deceit, no meaningless small talk,” Kualus said, “They say what they mean, and what will get their point across the quickest.”

Nuju was silent for a moment before responding, “That sounds nice.”

“I could teach you the language, if you wish,” the Rahaga said. Nuju was silent for twice as long before accepting the offer.

“Okay, I wouldn’t mind that,” he said.

* * *

Matau scurried behind Iruni as the two came upon the old Le-Metru test track. Memories of his time as a matoran flooded his muddled mind, and Matau sighed. He loved being a Toa, but his matoran job had been fun to him as well. Being in his new monstrous form made it all the more painful to reflect on his past life.

Iruni stopped in front of the main entrance, glanced around him, then kicked the door in. After the two entered, Iruni closed the doors behind them, shoving large hunks of metal from broken vehicles in front of them.

“Now let’s hope no Visorak try to get in,” Iruni said. The two walked through the building, stepping over scraps of metal and Visorak webbing along the way. Matau looked up at the ceiling. His new rahi-like ears picked up scratching noises outside. The back of his neck prickled.

“So, you guys were Toa?” Matau asked suddenly. Iruni leapt on top of a pile of rubble, and looked down at the mutated Toa of Air.

“That’s right,” he said, leaping back down to the other side of the pile.

“And you worked for…what was it called?”

“The Brotherhood of Makuta,” Iruni answered, looking through the indoor windows to the long-abandoned matoran offices. Matau ducked under some low-hanging Visorak webs.

“What is that?” he asked.

“It was formed in the time before time. They were tasked with the creation of rahi beasts to occupy the universe, while the Great Spirit created the matoran species. They rebelled, wanting power over all creation for themselves. When my team and I heard about their treachery, we rebelled and stole away the Stone of Light. This wasn’t before we ran into the Visorak viceroy herself and got mutated.”

“That’s some story-tale,” Matau said, unsure of what else to say. He couldn’t reflect on how big the world was when his heightened senses kept picking up even the faintest sounds from every direction. He sniffed the air, and immediately gagged.

Iruni seemed to sense it too, and his gaze snapped upwards to the ceiling, where they both could see hundreds of pairs of glowing green eyes, and hear the sounds of hundreds of scratching feet.

“Okay, let’s grab the key and get out of here,” Iruni said, sprinting across the test track, leaping over rubble, and going for a door to a storage closet.

“Matau! Are you in there?”

Matau stopped dead in his tracks. The voice coming from the front door was all too familiar.

“Nokama?” he cried, running back to the entrance of the building.

“What are you doing?” Iruni shouted.

“Matau, help me!” Nokama’s voice pleaded.

“Nokama’s out there!” Matau shouted back, starting to move the scrap metal out of the way of the door. Suddenly Iruni was beside him, trying to hold his arms back.

“No, you idiot, it’s a trick!” the Rahaga’s grip was surprisingly strong, and Matau began to struggle harder against it, with animalistic rage building within him.

“It’s Nokama! She’s in trouble! We need to let her in!”

“Think for one second!” Iruni scolded, tightening his grip, “There’s a ton of Visorak out there! See what color they are?”

“What the hell does it matter what color they are?!” Matau raged, throwing Iruni off him and pulling the front doors open. Visorak swarmed in, shrieking and snapping their dripping jaws. One slammed into Matau, pinning him to the ground. It looked him in the eye.

“Matau, help me!” It said in Nokama’s voice. Matau felt his heart fill with revulsion.

“Wha-What is this?!” he cried, struggling against the monster’s grip.

A hunk of metal slammed into the Visorak, knocking it off him. Matau leapt to his feet, and with surprising swiftness sprinted to the other side of the test track, where Iruni was picking up scraps of rubble and metal and chucking them in the visorak’s direction.

“What did I tell you?” Iruni’s voice held barely-contained anger.

“They can…do that?” Matau said, throwing a piece of rubble at an advancing Visorak, causing it to fall backwards and let out a scream.

“Yes, they’re the black-plated ones, the Oohnorak. They have minor telepathic abilities allowing them to mimic the voice of one’s most trusted companion. And you fell for it,” Iruni explained, wielding a long metal pipe to bat away the advancing horde.

Matau didn’t respond to the scoldings. While he fought back against the Visorak, he felt more rage building up. More and more of the black-plated Visorak were flooding through the entrance, crawling over each other to snap at the two companions. Soon the horde was nearly upon them.

Matau felt his rage bubble over, and he let out a roar. All the spider-like creatures were blown backwards as if by a great wind. Stunned for a moment, they all scrambled back to their feet and began the advance once again.

“Keep doing that!” Iruni shouted over the noise, “I’ll go grab the key and we can get out of here!”

Still surprised at what he’d just done, Matau let out another roar, and all the Visorak were blown back again. While the creature struggled to recover again, Matau looked down at himself.

_What the hell am I?_ he wondered.

He continued doing as Iruni had told him, blowing the Visorak back out the entrance, and swatting them away with his weapon hand. Iruni appeared next to him.

“I’ve got it. Force the rest out and we’ll barricade the door again. We can get down into the maintenance tunnels and get to Onu-Metru from there,” the Rahaga quickly explained. Matau nodded wordlessly, and drawing up all his pent-up frustration he channeled it into another roar that blew all the rest of the Oohnorak out the door. Both he and Iruni promptly slammed the front doors shut and pushed more rubble and scrap metal in front of it. The Visorak were still scratching and shrieking about outside, but the two companions were safe at least for the moment.

Iruni gave a sigh of relief, holding up a small geometric stone.

“It doesn’t look like much, but it’s worth all the blood, sweat, and tears,” he stated, placing it in his pocket. The two crossed the test track once again, opening another door to the maintenance room, and climbed down through a pothole into the tunnels below.

They began their trek to Onu-Metru. Along the way, they didn’t speak much, except for when Iruni broke the silence for a moment.

“So,” he said slyly, “have a thing for the blue one, huh?”

“Shut up,” Matau growled, silently grateful that the darkness of the tunnel hid his reddening face.

* * *

Down in the Archives, Whenua listened intently. His heightened hearing was picking up every conceivable sound all around him. And he was enjoying it. For the first time after finding out about the monstrosity he’d become, Whenua felt excited. He heard all kinds of creatures roaming about the Archives, their scraping, shuffling footsteps, their breathing, the strange calls they used to communicate with one another.

Bomonga snapped his fingers in front of Whenua’s face, breaking him out of his trance.

“Let’s go,” the Rahaga said, leading the mutated Toa of Earth through the dark tunnels. When they had first entered the tunnels, Whenua had been disappointed to find out that his kanohi no longer worked; he could no longer see in the dark with perfectly silvery clarity. But his new form made up for it by heightening his other senses.

They entered a chamber, and Whenua felt along the wall. The fingertips of his only remaining hand brushed over some scratches carved into the wall. It didn’t feel like the matoran language he knew. He continued to follow Bomonga’s footsteps until light from the next chamber nearly blinded him.

The cavern had many rows of lightstones embedded in the walls. Each was set in niches that twisted and formed strange shapes. Bomonga set to work sliding the lightstones along the wall on the paths of the niches until a loud clicking sounded from behind the wall. Whenua stared in awe as a portion of the far wall slid open, revealing a pedestal with a golden glowing stone set on top of it. It resembled the Toa stones Lhikan had given he and his teammates, all that time ago. It was protected by a thick see-through metallic shell.

“The Stone of Light?” Whenua asked.

Bomonga nodded, “All we need to do is keep the surrounding area clear, to protect the Stone and the others who will join us as soon as they all have their keys.”

Whenua nodded, as the Rahaga slid the lightstones back to their original places. The pedestal was closed behind the wall once again. It wasn’t long before Whenua heard a screech from the nearby tunnels. It sounded a lot like a Visorak, but Whenua felt like something was off about the sound. He sprang forward. In spite of Bomonga’s protests, Whenua sprinted after another screech, his burning curiosity driving him forward.

When he came upon the entrance to another tunnel, he—and his heart—stopped dead. Before him stood the largest Visorak he’d ever seen. It filled the entire tunnel, and peered down at him with glowing green eyes. A strong hand gripped his arm and yanked him to the side. Bomonga pulled Whenua along, sprinting down the tunnel, and making sharp turns at every opportunity.

“This is no good. That’s a Kahgarak!” Bomonga shouted to Whenua in a panic.

“What’s a Kahgarak?” Whenua said, grunting in pain as Bomonga turned another sharp corner and nearly tore his arm out of its socket.

“An elite breed of visorak! We can’t give it the chance to use its power on us!”

“What power does it have?”

Another large Kahgarak appeared in front of them, causing them both to screech to a halt and sprint in the opposite direction.

“You just had to go chasing after it! You can’t let your animal instincts overrule your judgement, Whenua!” Bomonga scolded, breathless from all the running.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it!” Whenua said, knowing full well it wasn’t a good enough excuse.

They came face to face with the first Kahgarak, and in turning back around, they nearly ran into the second one. Whenua and Bomonga stood back to back, practically shrinking as the two massive spiders advanced on them from both sides.

“Sorry won’t cut it,” Bomonga said matter-of-factly. Suddenly everything went dark.

Whenua whirled this way and that, immediately confused and disoriented. There was no light at all, and in opening his mouth to scream he found that there was no sound either. But he could feel the vibrations of his vocal chords. Whenua felt madness creeping into the corners of his mind, waving his arms about to find the walls of the tunnel.

He felt Bomonga’s hand grip the wrist of his weapon hand. It led him straight ahead, and Whenua decided to trust that the Rahaga knew where he was going. Soon he noticed a scent drifting towards him, a musty, harsh scent that negated Bomonga’s and his own.

Suddenly light blinded him again, and he and Bomonga were standing in front of one of the many entrances to the tunnels of the Archives. He could see the sky overhead, and straight ahead was one of the Kahgarak fleeing the scene as if it were as confused and disoriented as he had felt in the complete darkness. Bomonga took an audible deep breath, and faced Whenua.

“We’re lucky the Kahgarak trapped its companion in the void with us, or we’d still be wandering about, blind and deaf.”

Whenua was silent, still feeling ashamed for putting them both in jeopardy for no good reason. Bomonga seemed to notice his troubled expression, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“The lure of the Hordika is strong,” he said, “It’s normal to give in like that.”

Whenua still didn’t say anything.

“This is why we’re here,” Bomonga continued, leading Whenua back into the Archives, “We can help you fight it.” Whenua smiled, and let the Rahaga lead him back to the Stone of Light’s hiding place.

“The others will join us soon. Let’s keep this place safe for them,” Bomonga said.

“Okay,” said Whenua, with renewed determination to not give in to his animal side again.

* * *

The natural caves of Po-Metru were crawling with rahi as well as Visorak. Onewa lumbered after Pouks, who stood at the edge of a cliff that overlooked the cave he had said contained a key to the Stone of Light. Down below, a large herd of kane-ra bulls blocked the entrance. Visorak crawled among the webs up above. Pouks gestured for Onewa to stay low so they wouldn’t be spotted.

Onewa peered down. Without thinking, he lifted a large nearby boulder over his head, ready to toss it. Pouks grabbed his arm.

“What’re you thinking?” the Rahaga demanded.

“I’m clearing the way,” Onewa said simply. he briefly imagined the satisfying impact of the boulder on top of the kane-ra, and the sound they would make when they got crushed. He shook his head briefly, shocked at his own violent thoughts.

“This is the Horidka talking,” Pouks said, gently trying to lower Onewa’s arm. But the mutated Toa of Stone still held the boulder aloft. “Use reason, not impulse.”

“But if I—,” Onewa started.

“—If you throw that, you’ll alert every Visorak and kane-ra in the area,” Pouks insisted, “And you’ll be harming innocent animals.” Onewa sighed, and carefully placed the boulder back down.

“I could use my mind control…” Onewa tried to focus on the largest kane-ra—the leader of the herd—but nothing happened. His mind was swirling with scents and sounds, and concentration was difficult.

“Mutants like us can’t use our kanohi,” Pouks explained.

“Well, great then,” Onewa sank to the ground, sulking.

“Here, I think I have an idea.” Pouks picked up a rock about the size of his hand, and tossed it upwards. It hit a Visorak climbing a web overhead, and the spider creature fell onto the kane-ra bulls down below. The rahi bulls were whipped up into a frenzy, stomping and snorting, attacking the injured Visorak. More Visorak climbed down into the fray to join the fight. Soon all the kane-ra in front of the entrance to the cave left, and joined in the scuffle as well.

Pouks began climbing down the cliff and Onewa followed. The fighting rahi were so distracted that they didn’t notice the two intruders. Onewa and Pouks reached the cave, and ran inside before stopping to catch their breaths.

“You said I couldn’t harm the creatures,” Onewa said with a flash of annoyance, “But you can make them kill each other? How is that better?”

“Kane-ra are incredibly durable,” Pouks explained, “Their hides are so thick even Visorak can’t bite through. They’ll be fine.” The Rahaga cracked a smile. Onewa rolled his eyes.

“Let’s just find this damn key,” he muttered, and the two traverse the tunnel.

Along the way, Onewa began to see carving scratched into the walls. It was in the matoran language, but it was still hard to read due to the amount of weathering the characters had been subjected to. It looked like the walls were covered with ancient prophecies. Pouks kept walking while Onewa became distracted trying to read them. He squinted at one paragraph; he had to read it several times before the meaning finally struck him. He let out a cry of disbelief. Pouks appeared at his side once again.

“What’s wrong?” the Rahaga asked.

“It says…,” Onewa couldn’t continue his sentence, “the Toa…” his voice faltered, and he shrunk away from the wall, breathing hard like he’d been punched in the chest. Pouks furrowed his brow and peered at the carvings on the wall.

“Oh…” the Rahaga said, “Uh, I’m sure it’s a mistake…”

“Who would make a mistake like this?!” Onewa demanded, anger flaring up within him.

“We should tell the others,” Pouks said, worry creating lines on his face.

“Damn right, we should!” Onewa snapped, anger and worry driving his feet forward.

“Hold on, let me get the key,” Pouks said. He climbed up the wall of the tunnel, and scratched away at some loose rocks in the ceiling. He pulled out a small stone with smooth geometric edges. He nodded, and he and Onewa left the cave, and snuck past the still-fighting rahi and Visorak.

Onewa’s mind raced. Has everything he had known for the past few months been wrong?

* * *

Far from the island where the Great Temple stood, Nokama swam after Gaaki, feeling the new strength in her mutated limbs pushing her forward with more grace and speed she’d ever had before. Sure, becoming a half-Toa, half-rahi monstrosity was terrifying and overwhelming at first, but Nokama felt like there were perks to it as well. She felt more in tune with the natural world than before. In the water, she could sense every movement it made, every current and eddy. Her senses were sharper, her strength enhanced. Was being a Hordika really so bad?

“We’re almost there,” Gaaki said, turning back to the mutated Toa of Water.

Nokama nodded, but her head snapped in the direction of a school of fish. Without thinking, she dove underwater, and rocketed alongside them. The fish swirled and undulated around her, forming beautiful silvery patterns in the water. She smiled to herself, allowing her body to be carried by the currents.

She broke the surface to get some air and let out a contented laugh.

“Hello? Metru Nui to the Toa of Water!” Gaaki shouted from a distance. Nokama whirled to face the Rahaga. She cracked a sheepish grin.

“Sorry, I’m right behind you,” she said. Nokama dove under once again, making smooth, strong strokes with her arms back in Gaaki’s direction. Suddenly her foot caught on some coral and her progress halted abruptly. She tugged and twisted her ankle, but she was really stuck. Her panic building, Nokama kicked with her other leg, hoping to dislodge herself. Her lungs strained for air.

For a moment, an object caught her eye. It looked like a totem, stuck in the sand. Nokama closed her fingers around it, and held it up to her face. It looked like the artifact Vakama made back when they were escaping Metru Nui…

She felt arms enfold her from behind and yank her upwards. Her foot broke free from the coral and her head broke the surface of the water, and she gasped for air. She turned, and found herself face to face with Gaaki, who did not look pleased.

“Try to focus, please,” the Rahaga said.

“Sorry,” Nokama said again, looking at the totem in her hand.

“What’s that?” Gaaki said.

“It’s the Vahi.”

“ _The_ Vahi?” Gaaki’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, Vakama made it,” Nokama said. Mentioning Vakama’s name send a pang of sadness through her.

“Impressive, those Ta-matoran types,” Gaaki said casually, “Come on, we need to get that key. And keep that artifact safe."

Nokama tucked the Vahi safely away in her pocket, and swam after the Rahaga. Soon they came upon a tiny stone island, barely big enough for two Toa to stand side by side on. Gaaki climbed up onto it, and moved a few rocks aside and plunging her hand down into a hole until she was up to her armpit. She pulled her hand out, and it was clutching an oddly shaped stone.

“Let’s get to Onu-Metru, and fast,” Gaaki said, promptly diving back into the water and swimming back to where the Great Temple stood. Nokama followed her, using all her mental energy to focus on only following the Rahaga, even when intriguing sounds and scents reached her ears and nose.

* * *

Vakama crashed through the ruined Ta-Metru, with Norik following him close behind. Vakama tripped over a stone, and in a sudden rage he roared flames from his mouth at it, melting it into nothing. Norik sighed.

“Vakama, please, you’re making enough noise to wake all the Visorak on the island,” he pleaded. Vakama ignored him, pushing and kicking rubble aside to make a path for himself.

“The sooner we get this damn key, the sooner we can get to the matoran,” Vakama snarled.

“You really need to calm down,” Norik said, catching the mutated Toa of Fire’s shoulder.

“What’s there to be calm about?” Vakama got close to Norik’s face, “My city’s destroyed, the matoran are still in trouble, and what do you care? What do the other Toa care?!”

“They—we care just as much as you do!” Norik said, his eyes flashing with anger, “What do you think we’ve been doing? All this is meant to _help_ the rescue effort!” Vakama snorted, and continued shifting through the rubble with increasing carelessness.

“We need to go this way,” Norik said gently, pulling Vakama onto another pathway. For a moment, Vakama felt his mind clear of the animalistic rage that had been burning inside it, as he looked up to see where they had ended up.

“Is this…Toa Lhikan’s hut?” he asked.

“It is,” Norik smiled, “I hid the key here after he was captured by the Dark Hunters. Hope he doesn’t mind.”

“He won’t, He’s dead,” Vakama said flatly, feeling a sharp mixture of rage and sadness for a moment. He entered the hut, while Norik hung back, his eyes wide.

“Lhikan’s…dead?”

“Yeah, died saving my life, now let’s get this key,” Vakama began rifling through Lhikan’s desk. It was full of papers and reports about missing matoran, rahi attacks, and Dark Hunter activity in the city. Underneath all that was a small leather-bound book. Vakama flipped it open, to find it was Lhikan’s journal. Norik was suddenly beside him, and gently tried to close it.

“We shouldn’t,” he said.

“What does it matter anymore?” Vakama snapped, pulling the journal away from him. He skimmed the pages, not finding anything of note until the last entry. It was dated as the day before Lhikan had given Vakama and the others the Toa stones. It read:

_If the stars are correct, then the Great Spirit has chosen the next set of Toa who are to defend this city from the growing shadows. It’s strange…I read the names in the stars. They were: Nuhrii of Ta-Metru, Vhisola of Ga-Metru, Orkham of Le-Metru, Ahkmou of Po-Metru, Tehutti of Onu-Metru, and Ehrye of Ko-Metru. But I had a strange feeling that they weren’t the right ones._

_Last night I had a dream, and it revealed a new set of names: Vakama, Nokama, Matau, Onewa, Whenua, and Nuju. I’m usually inclined to believe the prophecies in the stars, but my heart tells me that the names from my dream are the ones who are the true destined Toa Metru._

Stunned, Vakama read the entry over and over again. Words failed him. He began to feel a burning sensation in his chest. Norik gently took the journal from him and read the entry as well. He looked troubled.

“This is very interesting indeed,” Norik said, looking up at Vakama as if he were afraid of how the mutated Toa of Fire would react. Vakama felt his breath getting shorter with every throbbing heartbeat. His mind reeled. He stared at Norik with equal parts incredulity and disbelief.

“’Interesting’?” he seethed, “This is ‘interesting’? What the hell is wrong with you?!” He roughly pushed past the Rahaga, making him stumble, and exited Lhikan’s hut. He tried to catch his breath, but his lungs continued to burn and contract painfully. He heard Norik’s hesitant footsteps behind him. He whirled to face the Rahaga, rage blazing from his chest up into his throat.

“We were a mistake. The Toa Metru are a mistake!” he hissed.

“What if—,” Norik started. Vakama pointed upwards, his chest heaving.

“The stars. Said. Totally different matoran. Were going to be. The new Toa,” he said, putting emphasis on every word with every labored breath.

“But Lhikan’s dream—,” Norik said.

“Lhikan followed a _dream_ rather than the Great Spirit’s will!” Vakama shouted. The scratching of Visorak began to echo throughout the district, but Vakama was so caught up in his own rage and despair that he didn’t hear it.

“Vakama _think_ for a second! Lhikan wouldn’t make this decision so lightly!” Norik shouted back, holding up the old journal, “There must be a reason he made it! It must have been the right one!”

“ _Or_ he was deceived!” Vakama shot back, “Maybe Makuta got in his brain and made him change his mind! We were destined to fail from the start!”

“Vakama,” Norik said helplessly, but the mutated Toa of Fire was already walking away in a huff.

“I was part of Makuta’s plan, not Mata Nui’s,” Vakama snarled.

“Vakama, wait!” Norik called, but Vakama had turned the corner and began to run. He ran harder and faster than he’d ever run before. His mind was so twisted and confused that he could hardly see straight. He and the other Toa Metru were never meant to be Toa. It was all a trick. They could never save the matoran, they weren’t supposed to. Everything is going to fall to Makuta. How could Lhikan do this to him?

After running for a long while, Vakama was suddenly struck from behind, and he fell face first onto the cracked pavement. Groaning in pain, he found he could no longer move. More scratching sounds surrounded him, and fear shot through him. His mind and heart screamed, but there was no stopping the advancing Visorak. From the exhaustion, both mental and physical, Vakama saw his vision fade to black and he fell into the void of unconsciousness.

* * *

After a long wait, Whenua perked up when he heard the approaching footsteps of his friends. The other mutated Toa, along with their Rahaga partners all gathered in the lightstone chamber, holding the small stone keys. Whenua waved to Nokama, who waved back. Kualus was talking to Nuju, making strange clicking and whistling sounds with his mouth, and the mutated Toa of Ice repeated the same sounds back. He noticed Onewa looked rather troubled, and Norik had returned alone.

“Where’s Vakama?” Whenua asked. Norik looked up at him and gave a rather strained smile. He walked past the mutated Earth Toa and handed his key to Bomonga. The other Rahaga handed Bomonga their keys.

Bomonga opened the wall again, revealing the Stone of Light in its protective case. On the wall behind it was a circular shaped niche carved into it. Bomonga placed the stones into it, fitting them together like a puzzle. With a loud click, the metal shell opened, and the Rahaga carefully removed the Stone of Light from it. He gave it to Norik, who placed it in a bag he had slung over his shoulder.

“On to phase two of the Great Rescue,” Bomonga said, smiling. The smile faded when he glimpsed Norik’s furrowed brow.

“Where’s Vakama?” Nokama asked, her eyes shining with worry.

“We…” Norik hesitated, “We found something. In Lhikan’s chambers.”

“I found something too. In Po-Metru,” Onewa said, stepping forward. His eyes were also clouded with worry. “I don’t think we were meant to be Toa.”

Silence fell in the chamber, thickening the air. Whenua’s mind reeled at the statement, and felt as though he was beginning to have trouble breathing.

“Why? What do you mean by that?” Nuju demanded, sounding panicked.

“There were carvings on the wall,” Onewa said, “It had predictions…it said, these matoran will be the next guardians of the city…Nuhrii, Vhisola, Orkham, Ahkmou, Tehutti, and Ehrye. Not us.”

“How is this possible?” Nokama wondered aloud, hands over her mouth.

“I’m not so sure that is the truth,” Norik said, bringing all their attention on him. He dug into his bag and pulled out a small leather journal. “This,” he said, “Is Toa Lhikan’s journal. The last entry has those names as well…they were written in the stars.”

Everyone was silent for a few moments. Norik continued.

“However, it says right there that he had a dream where all your names were revealed to him. So, he figured you six were the destined ones.”

“But which was correct? The stars or a dream Lhikan had?” Nuju asked. No one knew the answer. Whenua felt all his muscles lock in place. A large part of him wanted to run, but his body wouldn’t move.

“We can’t let any of this get in the way of what we have to do,” Matau spoke up, and several pairs of surprised eyes fell on him. Standing as tall as he could in his twisted form, Matau’s green eyes shone with determination. “Destined or not, aren’t we the only ones who can quick-save the matoran? We can’t just do nothing!”

“What about Vakama?” Nokama asked, her eyes still full of concern, “Where did he go?”

“He took this revelation…rather badly,” Norik said. The tone of his voice made Whenua think that he was making an understatement. “But, if we’re lucky, he’ll take the time to find his destiny.”

“Yeah, well, what if he finds a really bad one?” Onewa asked. Norik didn’t answer, and instead clapped his hands together.

“Now then, we should begin our search for Keetongu at once,” the Rahaga said, erasing the worry from his face.

“Where do we even start?” Nuju asked. Norik smiled at him.

“Somewhere you know well.”


	23. The Visorak Viceroy

Vakama woke up to find himself in a situation he’d found himself in time and again ever since becoming a Toa: being tied up and having little idea where he was. The stars twinkled overhead, through a network of Visorak webbing and metal support beams. He was on his knees, with his hands tied behind his back. Looking down he saw more Visorak webbing tied around his waist and chest. He groaned, and pulled against his restraints. Suddenly all his fear and anger from before flooded back into his mind and he struggled harder. The vines didn’t budge, and a long, angry howl split the night sky above him. It took him a while to realize that the howl was coming from his own throat.

He breathed hard, and continued to pull at the webbing. “What’s happening to me?” he groaned.

“You are becoming,” a sly, silky female voice said. Vakama’s head snapped up, eyes darting every which way. In front of him was a tall slender figure cloaked in shadow.

“I’m becoming what?” he demanded, trying to twist his wrists out of their restraints.

The figure stepped elegantly into a square of moonlight, and was illuminated. The being that stood before him was curvy, snakelike, and moved like water. She had grey skin, with full purple lips and eyelids. Her eyes were reptilian, angled, and shone bright blue with dark slits for pupils. She had long hair pulled back by a simple head ornament. The hair was jet black, with bright blue stripes in it. Around her neck was a large red gem, and she wore a long gown. Both her hands had elegant, long, black nails. One of her arms was scaly and reptilian, tinged green. She smiled down at him, with pointed teeth. And she answered his question in a voice that sent a shiver down his spine.

“A friend, perhaps?” she said, placing a finger under his chin. Vakama snarled, and jerked his head away.

“…or a foe,” the being said, smiling again, “that’s for you to decide. And why I’ve invited you here.”

Vakama pulled at the webbing again. “Some invitation,” he snapped. The being ignored him.

“I have a proposal for you,” she purred, placing her long elegant hands together.

“And if I don’t want to hear it?” Vakama growled.

The being frowned, kneeling down to his level again. She brushed his chin lightly with her finger again. “Be reasonable, Vakama,” she said.

“How do you know my name?” Vakama hissed. He felt her fingertip brush against his chest, and pull at the webbing around it. It snapped like she was breaking a flimsy thread.

“I know a great deal about you,” she purred, her finger traveled lower and broke the webbing around his waist. As the webbing snapped, it retreated and unraveled from Vakama’s wrists. As soon as he was free, Vakama leapt past her and ran to the nearest door he could find. Before he could exit, he ran into several Visorak that blocked his way. He took a step backwards, and felt a slender, silky hand on his shoulder.

“Come now,” the being said, “what harm would come from listening for a moment?”

“Who are you?” Vakama demanded, turning to face her. She smiled another wicked yet strangely alluring smile.

“I am Roodaka, Viceroy of the Visorak Horde,” she said. She swiftly turned and strode towards one of the support beams, where she gazed out into the night sky. Vakama stared after her for a long while.

“What…do you want with me?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Ah, secrecy is such a burden,” Roodaka said wistfully, “but Sidorak mustn’t know we speak.”

“Sidorak?”

“King of the Visorak,” Roodaka turned to face Vakama, smiling with a glint of mischief in her eye.

“He doesn’t know you’ve captured me?”

“Not yet.”

Vakama sniffed. “Some leader.”

“Precisely.”

Vakama glanced at the small group of Visorak that were still vigilantly guarding his every exit. “You’re not worried they’ll tell him you said that?”

Roodaka laughed softly, “They are loyal to me.” Vakama remained silent. Roodaka strode towards him, nearly burning him with her piercing blue gaze. “They obey me because I am strong. They fear me, and therefore don’t dare question my authority. That’s how the other Toa should treat you, Vakama.”

“What, like how the Visorak treat you?” Vakama asked. None of what she was saying sat well with him, but her voice had an allure that was impossible to ignore.

“All I’m saying is that they should treat you with the respect you deserve,” Roodaka purred, making slow snakelike circles around him. Vakama had to admit to himself that a little respect would be nice, but he wasn’t sure exactly what Roodaka was getting at. “What I propose to you is,” she paused, leaning close to Vakama’s face, “lead the Visorak horde.”

Vakama desperately tried to process what she had said. Could he really abandon his Toa team, after all they’d been through, and lead their greatest enemy yet?

“I…I don’t know,” he mumbled, his gaze dropping to the floor.

“I understand it’s a lot to take in,” Roodaka said kindly, and she pointed a long elegant finger at a lone Visorak. “You there,” she said, her voice hardening and taking a commanding tone, “come here.” The spiderlike creature skittered up to her, taking a low bow and lifting its gaze back up at her with expectant eyes. Roodaka cracked a small sadistic smile and hissed, “Throw yourself off the edge.”

The Visorak scuttled to the iron bars, squeezed between them, and jumped. Vakama gasped, and ran to where the creature had disappeared. Looking down, he realized they were standing in the highest tower of the Coliseum, and that Visorak had just jumped to its own death on Roodaka’s command.

“I can give you the opportunity to lead those that will obey you properly,” Roodaka said.

Vakama stared over the ledge, reflecting on the adventures he had with the other Toa Metru. They’d fought the Morbuzakh root within the Great Forge, a shapeshifting rahi underground, countless Vahki, rode on Kikanalo, imprisoned the Makuta, and sailed across a great ocean to a new island paradise.

But soon, his mind was overtaken by all the times Onewa had insulted him, and Matau’s harsh words after they were all mutated. Nokama or even Whenua seemed like more level-headed and qualified leaders to the others, and even himself at times. And Nuju didn’t seem to care at all. Nokama had encouraged him to take charge, but why? None of them were meant to be Toa anyway, so what did anything matter anymore? Vakama felt dark anger creeping into the corners of his mind.

“Is this something your king would allow?” he said finally. Roodaka smiled again, another mischievous glint in her blue eyes.

“There is a way you could…convince him,” she hissed.

“I’m listening,” Vakama said quietly. Roodaka suddenly appeared near him, and stroked him gently on the cheek.

“Very good,” she purred.


	24. The Beast Within

“Come along! Our best chance to find Keetongu lies within the temple!” Norik said, striding towards the gateway of the Great Temple with a spring in his step. The other Rahaga were already entering, but Norik stopped to notice that none of the mutated Toa were following him. “Is there something wrong?” he asked.

The Toa stayed in a tight group, exchanging uncertain looks with one another. Nokama decided to speak up for them all.

“We think it’d be best if we wait here,” she explained, “The Great Temple is sacred to Toa. Given what has happened to us, I’m not sure it’d be right.”

“I understand,” Norik said, smiling kindly, “Our work here will probably not go unnoticed. You should guard the gates. Give us until tomorrow morning, then we can begin our search.”

“Consider it done,” Nokama said. She and the others dispersed, each taking a different outpost around the temple gates. Only Matau stayed behind.

“Hey, wait,” he called after them, “you know, I think we should talk about the—”

“—No!” The other Toa shouted in unison. Matau’s shoulders slumped, and he hesitantly sauntered after them to take a post outside the temple as well.

* * *

Matau sat upon a guard tower, scanning the area for any kind of threat. The sky was darkening, but he didn’t feel tired at all. Impatience threatened to drive him mad, as thoughts of finding this mythical rahi that would cure his mutation ran through his mind over and over again. Matau didn’t even know if he believed such a rahi existed, but he felt like it was his only hope at becoming his old self once again.

He sniffed the air. The direction of the wind had changed, and with it carried the familiar scents of the other Toa. Nothing unusual. Nothing unusual at all. Matau sighed, bored. He tapped his fingers on the edge of the wall. He listened to the bird calls overhead. He stared at the sky as the sun sank lower towards the horizon. He yawned widely, but still wasn’t tired in the slightest. He sat on the edge of the wall, letting his feet dangle.

His mind wandered to the strange revelations of the past few days. The fact that he and the others may not have been meant to be the Toa Metru, and Vakama’s disappearance. When they had first met, Matau was convinced the Toa of Fire was a mental case. But he’d proved time and again that his visions were true signs of where they were supposed to go and do. He had been once a shy matoran, but seemed to reveal himself as much more capable that Matau and the others would have thought.

Then Matau remembered what he’d said to Vakama when the Visorak ambushed them. That he had gotten them captured and mutated, that it was all his doing. Matau felt a pang of remorse. He’d been so caught up in his own anger that he’d forgotten that what he’d said was way out of line. Nokama had been right. It wasn’t Vakama’s fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. If anything, Makuta was the one. If he weren’t around, Matau and the others would still be hardworking matoran, working playing and living their lives in peace.

Matau glanced up at the sky. He’d never really given much thought to the stars before, but now it seemed like so many stories were written in them that he had no idea about. He heard a scratching sound, bringing him to alertness. Glancing down, however, it was just a bird building a nest in a niche in the wall. He let out a loud breath of frustration and sank back into a sitting position. The sky was dark now. Great, he thought, only eleven more hours to go until sunrise.

* * *

When the sun rose the next morning, all the Toa gathered in front of the Great Temple, awaiting the Rahagas’ return. They all stood there for a long while, shuffling their feet, looking all around. When the sun began climbing higher in the sky, unrest swept through the group like a stiff breeze.

“Norik said they’d be done by daybreak,” Nuju said.

“Did anyone see anything last night?” Nokama asked.

Whenua heaved a sigh, “Nothing. Lots of nothing.”

“Yeah, bo-ring,” Onewa agreed.

“I don’t know,” Nuju said wistfully, “I found the sounds of the night fascinating.”

Matau snorted, “Right.” He looked down at his weapon hand. “I wonder what’s taking the Rahaga so long. I mean, how hard is it to get directions?”

“I’d say very hard, since it’s a creature that has not been seen since the time before time,” Nuju said, heavy condescension in his voice.

“Really,” Matau scoffed.

Nokama turned to face him, “Have some patience, Matau!”

“Yeah, take it easy, Matau!” Whenua added.

“’Take it easy!’” Matau said in a mocking voice, pushing past his fellow Toa and running towards the Great Temple, “I have absolutely no patience from looking like this!”

Matau kept running, and soon he could hear his companions following him. His impatience was slowly building up in his chest and burned like a small flame.

“We already wasted a whole night!” he shouted, “The way I see it, the faster we get to the—”

He stopped in his tracks, and soon the others halted behind him. Matau could see smoke billowing out of the higher windows of the structure. The sight sent shivers of fear up and down his spine. He glanced back at the others, all wearing similarly worried looks. Disregarding how entering the temple felt wrong in their monstrous forms, they all burst inside, calling out the names of the Rahaga.

The inside of the temple was a mess. Rubble from the ceiling was strewn across the floor, and there were scorch and claw marks everywhere. Matau sifted through the debris, calling out to their comrades. The other Toa were doing the same.

“Guys, over here!” Nuju shouted from across the room, “I found Norik!”

Matau and the others rushed to where Nuju stood, on top of a large pile of debris. Norik was trapped in it, coated in dust and coughing weakly. Whenua pushed everyone aside.

“Stand back,” he said, activating his weapon arm. It whirred like his old drill weapons, and he carefully used it to dig out the debris surrounding the Rahaga. Matau and the others picked up looser rocks and debris and moved them aside. After a few minutes, they managed to clear all the rubble off Norik, who was wracked with another coughing fit.

“Norik, what happened?” Nuju said, putting an arm around the Rahaga’s shoulders. Norik’s coughing ceased, and the Rahaga took a deep, ragged breath.

Onewa looked up at the others. “What should we do?”

Nokama hung her head sadly. “I wish Vakama was here.”

Norik coughed again, clearing his throat. His eyes were dazed and bleary. He managed to croak out a couple of words.

“He was,” he said. The Toa all exchanged looks of disbelief and shock.

* * *

Vakama slammed his fist on the large door, the entrance to the Coliseum. A small group of Visorak gathered behind him, making clicking and chattering noises. Vakama pounded the door again, harder than before. He glanced back at the creatures, and snarled at them. They gave small shrieks in response.

“You must be confused, Toa,” a voice said over the Coliseum’s intercom system. It was male, unfamiliar, and aloof. Vakama guessed it was the voice of the Visorak King. “We don’t welcome your kind here; we exterminate it,” it said simply.

Vakama gave an animalistic snarl. “It’s you who’s confused,” he hissed.

“Ah, a Toa Hordika,” the voice said, with a hint of amusement, “Why have you come here?”

“I’m here to join you!” Vakama declared. There was a moment of silence. Vakama shot a look at the Visorak gathered behind him. All of them chattered loudly, like they were speaking to their king, vouching for him.

“…And to present you with proof of my worth!” He declared, gesturing behind him. There lay five writhing bodies wrapped in Visorak webbing from the neck down. A strip of webbing was strung across their mouths so their cries were muffled. It was the five Rahaga, save for Norik.

The door to the Coliseum slid open. The intercom system crackled on once more.

“Let’s talk,” Sidorak’s voice said, and Vakama slunk inside, followed closely by the Visorak, who carried the captured Rahaga on their backs.

* * *

“Vakama would never do such a thing!” Nokama cried. She hesitated, and glanced at the other four Toa. “Right?” she said, a bit quieter.

Onewa, Whenua, Nuju, and Matau were silent. They exchanged uncomfortable looks with one another.

“You’re correct, Nokama,” Norik said, bringing them all to attention, “The Vakama you know would not.” He fell silent for a moment, and sighed. “I’m afraid he’s given himself completely to the beast that lurks within anyone infected with the Hordika venom. You could all become like him if we don't find Keetongu.”

The five Toa didn’t know what to say. Nokama felt pained at the knowledge of what Norik had told them; that Vakama ambushed the other Rahaga within the temple and took them away. He’d left Norik behind to “send a message.”

“How could this happen?” she said, almost in a whisper.

“It could have happened to any one of us,” Norik said, “the ancient primal instincts, the parts of ourselves we’d like to think progress has made us forget. We all have them. And Hordika heightens them.” Norik glanced at all their worried faces. “Ah, but it’s not _all_ bad,” he assured, “Hordika grants you certain gifts. Enhanced senses, faster reflexes, greater strength, a connection with nature you never thought possible—”

“—That’s all well and good,” Nuju interrupted, “But what do we do about Vakama?”

“Assuming Norik’s right, we need to find Keetongu before the beast overcomes us too,” Nokama said.

“Yes, but I must warn you,” Norik said, his voice grave, “Vakama may already be beyond anything even Keetongu could cure.”

“Well, we have to try!” Matau burst out suddenly, surprising everyone, “We owe the fire-spitter that much,” he hesitated for a moment and his gaze dropped to the ground, “and…I was kinda hard on him…”

“And if you can’t help him?” Norik said.

Matau’s green eyes blazed with passion. “Leave that to me,” he said.

“So, back to searching,” Nuju said.

“We were able to translate most of the inscription in the temple before… the attack,” Norik said, “It said: ‘Follow the trail of falling tears to Ko-Metru, until they reach the sky.’” He gestured upwards, and from one of the carvings of the face of Mata Nui on the outer wall of the temple, a stream of liquid protodermis flowed from its eye and formed a small silvery stream along the ground. It wound its way out of Ga-Metru, where it vanished into the distance.

Matau dipped his hand in the stream. “Uh, ‘tears that reach the sky’?” he said.

“It’s not much of a plan,” Onewa said, “but it _is_ one.”

The five of them followed Norik along the silvery stream, each one of them taking more confident strides even in their monstrous forms.

* * *

Vakama had entered the Coliseum upon gaining entrance from Sidorak. As he made his way through the hall, he met up with Roodaka, who looked extremely pleased. She smiled and greeted him with her voice dripping with sweetness.

“You are everything I hoped you’d be,” she crooned, and instructed the Visorak to string up the captured Rahaga on a post dangling high on the Coliseum tower. She stroked Vakama’s tangled hair gently. “Come,” she said, “it’s time you had a glimpse of your future.” She glided away from him, her footsteps barely making a sound, even on the metal floor. Vakama followed her through several hallways before coming upon a room with a wide staircase leading up to the platform where a large throne was set.

“The throne will soon be yours, Vakama,” Roodaka said. She gestured towards the stairs, and Vakama climbed up them, using all four of his limbs. He reached the throne. It was made of fine, smooth metal, and was intricately detailed. He reached a finger out to brush its surface.

“Go ahead,” Roodaka’s purring voice was suddenly right next to his ear, “touch it.”

When his finger was merely a hair’s width from the armrest of the massive throne, an aloof voice filled the chamber.

“You may look, Vakama, but don’t touch,” it said firmly. Vakama withdrew his hand and looked up. At last Sidorak was revealed to him. He was a titan, as tall as Roodaka was. He was flanked by three Visorak, all of which were a bit larger than the others. He sported long hair and a short beard, and wore highly detailed armor with a flowing cape that trailed behind him. He had a pair of bright green eyes. Vakama disliked him immediately. His fancy getup looked like he was overcompensating for something. Out of the corner of his eye, Roodaka was giving Sidorak a respectful bow. He decided to do the same, if only to gain his favor.

“I’d like to thank you personally,” Sidorak said. Vakama lifted his gaze, and met the Visorak king’s green eyes. “because of you the Rahaga are now where they belong.”

“This is just the beginning of what he can offer you,” Roodaka said, rising to her full height.

Sidorak raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” he said.

“It is, my king,” Roodaka said sweetly, “Vakama is my gift to you. A fitting master for your horde.”

Sidorak strode towards the throne with long, graceful steps. “Hordika or not,” he said, taking a seat on the throne, “there’s only one of him.”

“Which is why the other Toa are on their way here,” Roodaka purred, “With Vakama leading the horde, they will be captured and trained just like him. Would all six be enough to please you?”

Sidorak tapped his fingers on the throne’s armrest. “Hmm, a fine offer, Roodaka,” he said with a small smile.

“Consider it an engagement gift,” Roodaka said, taking another bow.

Sidorak gave a small laugh. “Well, then,” he said, rising from his seat, and turning to Vakama, “Allow me to introduce you to the horde.”

Sidorak strode out of the room, through yet another hallway, his long cape fluttering behind him. Vakama glanced backwards at Roodaka, and caught a glimpse of that mischievous glint in her eye. He turned his attention back to the Visorak king, and followed him through rooms where he could see matoran spheres lining the walls. Sidorak placed a hand on his shoulder as they walked.

“You know, Vakama,” Sidorak said, “we’re very much alike, you and I.”

Vakama didn’t say anything, unimpressed.

“That was a compliment, Vakama,” the Visorak King urged.

“Oh, thank you,” Vakama said, and with great reluctance added, “my king.”

“Think nothing of it,” Sidorak said, smiling in an aloof manner that made Vakama like him less by the moment. “Such is the generosity of my rule,” the King continued, “My horde is an obedient one. They’ll do anything you command.”

They passed by a lone Visorak that held a small cleaning tool in its mouth, polishing the floor with an air of desperation. Vakama stared at it until he and Sidorak crossed into another hallway.

“That is,” Sidorak continued to talk, much to Vakama’s secret annoyance, “unless I command differently, of course.”

“…Of course,” Vakama agreed, wishing to be rid of his company.

“Good,” Sidorak said, and gave him a rough slap on the back.

The two finally arrived at the Turaga’s box, the balcony that overlooked the stadium. Sidorak gestured towards the stadium.

“Behold,” Sidorak said with an air of showmanship, “the Visorak horde!”

The breath caught in Vakama’s throat as he looked down, to see the stadium completely flooded and overrun by hundreds of thousands of crawling, hissing Visorak of all colors. It looked as though the floor of the stadium was in constant motion.

“Perhaps you’d like to say a few words?” Sidorak said. Vakama sensed Roodaka was suddenly beside him. He looked up at her, and her blue eyes shone encouragingly. Vakama looked out at the massive horde down below. He let loose a roar that reverberated through the whole Coliseum. In response, all the colored specks below shrieked in unison. The whole structure filled with noise.

Vakama felt a smile on the corners of his mouth. Roodaka’s elegant hand stroked through his hair again. If he was nervous about his position of power before, all the worry seemed to dissipate. Perhaps with the entire horde at his command, Vakama could rescue the matoran all on his own.

That will show the others, he thought to himself.


	25. Keetongu

Meanwhile the remaining mutated Toa Metru made their way across the city with Norik, following the silver stream of “tears.” The journey consisted mostly of climbing over rubble, dodging squads of hissing Visorak, Matau complaining, and Nuju staring up at birds and constantly wandering off to talk to them. After a long and tiresome journey, they arrived in the snowy district of Ko-Metru.

Matau could now see that the silver stream had frozen over, and formed a winding pathway up to the very outskirts of the district. He and his companions came upon a wide and towering structure, onto which the stream somehow had flowed upwards towards its peak. It sparkled even under the clouded sky.

The others came up next to Matau, all looking up and gasping in wonder.

“The tears, they _do_ reach the sky!” Matau said, excitement bubbling up inside him for the first time since returning to Metru Nui. Norik clambered ahead of the group, a spring in his step. He gestured for the mutated Toa to follow, and they did.

They all entered a small opening on the side of the structure, next to the frozen stream of tears. Much to Matau’s dismay, it led to a winding underground tunnel. Sighing inwardly, he stumbled after Norik in the dark. It didn’t take long for the group to come upon a cavern with a round skylight in the ceiling. The faint light of the clouded day filtered down and lit the cavern with dim white light. In the center of the cavern was a large gleaming pool.

Matau was the first to arrive after Norik. He glanced around the empty cavern, impatience and frustration slowly growing in his mind. He glanced at Norik, who was facing the pool, a serene look on his face. Matau felt his annoyance increase.

The footsteps of his companions sounded behind him, and the other Toa entered the cavern. Matau jogged up to them with mock enthusiasm.

“Hurry you guys, it’s amazing!” He cried, pulling on Nokama’s arm and leading the rest towards the pool. “It’s Keetongu!” he shouted, gesturing towards the emptiness.

The others gave him a collective look of exasperation, but everyone heard Norik chuckle.

“Don’t be so quick to judge, Matau,” the Rahaga said, his eyes locked on the shining pool. He lifted his head, and called out, “We are sorry to disturb your rest, noble one! But the duty of these Toa require they ask for your help!”

There was a full minute of silence. The Toa glanced about, desperately looking for a sign of the mythical rahi. Matau snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Okay, well, we’d like to stay and chat, but we gotta go,” Matau said to the pool. Just as he turned to leave the whole cave shook. His gaze snapped back to the pool. From its depths rose a great pillar, and atop it…

“Woah,” Onewa breathed, “Is everyone seeing this?”

Before the five Toa and one Rahaga sat the largest bipedal beast any of them had ever seen. It sat cross-legged, arms resting on its thighs. Its whole body looked like it had the tough armored hide of a kane-ra or a Kikanalo, and it looked a lot like Toa armor. It had a large circular armored plate on top of its head, and in the center of his face opened one large shining eye. It peered down at the six traveling companions, and leaned slightly forward.

“To—a,” the creature breathed. Matau looked at Norik, whose eyes were wide with awe.

“Keetongu,” the Rahaga said back, his grin spreading wider by the second.

Matau looked back up at the creature. He flinched as its eye swiveled towards him, and he instantly felt exposed, like it was examining every inch of his soul. He wanted to look away from it, but at the same time he couldn’t take his eyes away. The large eye shone bluer than the seas around Ga-Metru at midday.

Keetongu turned slowly towards Norik, and began to make a series of strange sounds. It was like the breathing and mumbling of a great beast. Norik fixed his eyes on him, nodding every so often. Norik turned back to the Toa.

“He wants to know everything about how we came to be here,” Norik said. The five Toa gasped in astonishment.

“You can understand that thing?” Onewa asked. Norik waved his hand at the Toa of Stone and shushed loudly.

“Don’t be rude, Onewa! Use his name, for Mata Nui’s sake!”

“Okay, sorry,” Onewa muttered.

“If everyone else doesn’t mind, I can tell him our story,” Nokama said. The others nodded at her.

So, the Toa and Rahaga sat in front of the silvery pool, and Nokama began with the battle with Makuta and all the events that led to her and her companions’ mutations. Matau watched Keetongu; for the entire duration of Nokama’s story he didn’t move a single muscle.

About an hour passed, and Nokama began to wrap up her story.

“…and then Vakama disappeared and took the other Rahaga with him. All of which is why we came to see you. Will you help us bring him back?” Nokama looked up at the big blue eye of the creature, who was still unmoved from the moment the story began.

“Nooo…” Keetongu breathed.

“Well, thanks just the same, we’ll be going, then,” Onewa said, standing up and turning to exit the cavern. Whenua caught his shoulder, urging him to sit back down. Keetongu brought all to attention by speaking again in his strange tongue.

“Keetongu can’t start a battle on your behalf,” Norik interpreted, “but he can aid those that are loyal to the three virtues. In fact, that is his sworn duty.”

Matau nearly jumped to his feet. “So, he’ll turn us back into our good-lookin’ Toa-hero selves?” he asked excitedly.

“No,” Keetongu said.

“Aww,” Matau groaned.

“Keetongu sees with one eye what we have missed with all of ours,” Norik continued, “If you are to save Vakama, you need to use your new forms and abilities, not be rid of them!”

Annoyance flashed in Matau’s mind once again. “So, we came all this way _just to find out we didn’t have to come all this way!_ ” he shouted, nearly losing his breath in the process. As Matau panted, all the others looked up to see Keetongu panting in the same manner.

Norik laughed heartily, “He thinks it’s funny, too!”

The other Toa snickered, but Matau wasn’t amused. “Ha, ha, right! Funny!” the Toa of Air sneered, “That’s what I was thinking.”

Keetongu then spoke for a long few minutes, all the while they all listened intently, though Norik was the only one who truly understood what he was saying. When the creature finished speaking, Norik turned back to the Toa to give his interpretation.

“He said your devotion to your friend has touched him. He finds your quest to be worthwhile.”

Keetongu breathed out a few more strange syllables.

“…and?” Matau asked impatiently.

“And he’d like to offer us his help!” Norik said, beaming.

All the mutated Toa sprang to their feet and cheered in unison. Above them, Keetongu rose to his feet atop the pillar and leapt down. The impact shook the cave yet again. All six traveling companions stared up in awe at their new ally. His size alone could rival Makuta, and each one of them could only guess at the amount of power he was capable of.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road!” Onewa exclaimed, and the seven companions exited the cave and began the journey towards the Great Coliseum.


	26. Confrontation

Vakama wandered about the Coliseum, his mind racing. He had spent all week training with the Visorak, and they proved to be very effective soldiers. He had sparred with many of them, and went through many plans of attack. He was itching for some real action. His mind wandered to the rescue of the matoran. He couldn’t order the Visorak to carry out the canisters without Sidorak or Roodaka hearing of it. So, he’d have to get rid of them first. Vakama snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the purring of Roodaka’s voice around the corner. He ducked for cover, and listened.

“It won’t be long now, my Makuta,” she whispered. Burning with curiosity, Vakama peered around the corner, to see Roodaka standing at a window that overlooked Ga-Metru and, beyond that, the rocky island he and the other Toa had left Makuta frozen in a crystal prison.

Roodaka gazed out to the horizon dreamily, lightly brushing the gemstone around her neck with her elegant fingertips. A small smile on her lips, she continued speaking in a gentle tone that Vakama never heard her use with either him or Sidorak.

“Soon I’ll be able to break the wretched seal that keeps us apart.”

Seal? What was she talking about? With all his muscles tensed, Vakama continued to listen.

Roodaka’s tone darkened significantly, and her eyes glinted with a devious light. “Then I can finally be rid of that worthless fool Sidorak. You don’t need him anyway,” her tone sweetened up again, and she clutched the gemstone to her chest, “You will always have me.” She gave a soft dreamy laugh that made Vakama’s skin crawl. He decided to creep away and check back on the Visorak horde.

He stood up in the Turaga’s box, overlooking the colored specks swarming the stadium. He looked up the tallest spire, and could see the wriggling forms of the five Rahaga dangling from Visorak webbing.

Suddenly Roodaka was behind him, and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Is it everything I promised you?” Roodaka said. Vakama immediately heard the treacherous edge in her sweetened voice, very different from the way she spoke earlier.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” he commented, holding her gaze steadily.

“Yes, a night of great consequence falls,” she mused gazing over the balcony to look at the legions below. She turned to Vakama. “Be ready,” she said firmly, “Many things will change.”

Vakama saw that glint in her eye once again. Suddenly Sidorak approached them both, his cape fluttering behind him.

“How is the horde, Vakama?” he asked in his aloof voice.

“Obedient. And ready,” he answered.

* * *

Vakama thought he’d go mad with all the waiting. He paced back and forth, lit and extinguished his fire weapon, and snapped his head toward every slight sound he picked up. According to Roodaka, the other Toa should be on their way to the Coliseum by now. Then Vakama could prove just how stronger he was without them. They could witness him take down the King and Viceroy of the Visorak and rescue the matoran all on his own. He smiled at the thought.

Suddenly the sound of metal striking metal echoed through the Coliseum. It happened again, just a few seconds later. Vakama snapped his head back and forth, trying to locate the source of the noise. There it was again. With each metallic _bang_ , Vakama felt his muscles clench harder in anticipation.

Down below, in the stadium, the Visorak lay waiting all along the outer edges and up in the stadium seating. Vakama squinted, small shapes catching his eye. There were five of them. and they entered the stadium with boldness. The five tiny shapes stopped in the center of the stadium, and a familiar voice reached his ears.

“ _Vakama!_ ” Nokama’s cry seemed to strike him in the chest. Vakama’s breath caught for a moment. His mind briefly flashed through all the good memories he had with the other Toa Metru. For all their differences, they had all banded together in crucial times to save a city that didn’t even welcome them.

“Nokama,” he whispered. He nearly wanted to leap down and stand side by side with her and the others once again.

“Vakama,” Roodaka’s silky voice drifted into his ear, “remember, you don’t need them anymore.”

Anger flared up in Vakama again, an animalistic urge to destroy overpowered his memories. He leapt onto the handrail of the Turaga’s box, and snarled down at his former teammates.

“ _You’ve made a great mistake coming here!_ ” he roared, and the stadium rang with the sound of his voice.

“ _We came here to save you!_ ” Whenua’s voice reached up to him.

“ _The only ones you can save now are yourselves!_ ” Vakama shouted back. “ _Bow down and pledge your allegiance to me!_ ”

Sidorak coughed loudly.

“ _…and to Sidorak!_ ” Vakama added, with reluctance.

“ _And when we don’t?!_ ” Onewa called up to him.

Vakama grinned, and blasted a fireball downward towards the center of the stadium. It hit the ground harmlessly in front of the five Toa. On the signal, the Visorak horde surrounded the Toa, shrieking and gnashing their mandibles.

“ _Have I provided you with the incentive yet?_ ” He called down to his former companions.

“ _We’re getting you out of here, fire-spitter, whether you like it or not!_ ” Matau’s voice triggered Vakama’s rage, and he roared, and the thousands of Visorak began their assault on the Toa, shooting poison and webbing, snapping at them with large mandibles and teeth. From what Vakama could see, the Toa began to fight back, striking at their foes with their weapon hands. Some of them began using their Hordika abilities as well.

Whenua let out an animalistic roar, and the ground beneath him split and heaved upwards, flinging some Visorak in the air and causing others to lose their balance. Nokama had managed to summon a small tidal wave from seemingly nowhere to wash away advancing Visorak, while Matau did the same with a roar that blasted the creatures with powerful winds. Nuju had ice breath that froze a bunch of the spider creatures, and Onewa was scrambling up the walls of the stadium, creating cracks and raining stones down upon the advancing swarms.

Vakama barked orders, and the Visorak obeyed, and managed to land some blows on the Toa down below. Even as he did so, he still heard that metallic banging sound, steady like a simple drumbeat. He looked down the side of the spire of the Coliseum, and saw something large climbing up the wall.

Sidorak looked over Vakama’s shoulder and made an audible gasp.

“What is that?” he huffed, no small amount of disgust in his voice. Vakama thought long and hard. The being was far away, but he could make out that it was not a Toa. It was huge, and he could see it had one large eye.

“Is it…Keetongu?” he mused out loud. Sidorak huffed again.

“But Keetongu doesn’t exist!” he insisted.

“Seems you’re wrong about that,” Vakama sneered, taking great pleasure in seeing Sidorak’s look of disbelief that someone lower than him was speaking to him so disrespectfully. Vakama smiled. “I can take care of him,” he said, but as he turned to leave Roodaka caught his shoulder.

“No, Vakama,” she said, “It’s not your place. It is that of a King.” She smiled and glanced in Sidorak’s direction. Sidorak cleared his throat, and adjusted his cape.

“If Keetongu wasn’t a myth before, he soon will be,” he said. But Vakama could see a faint glint of fear in his green eyes. He couldn’t help but smile to himself again.

Sidorak and Roodaka walked over to a small elevator that led up to the higher levels of the Coliseum’s spire. Vakama watched them go. Roodaka turned briefly towards him, smiling.

“Stay here,” she said as the elevator doors closed in front of her. Vakama did as he was told.

* * * 

Back down in the stadium, Nuju sprinted for his life as he was slowly being surrounded by more Visorak. It was utter chaos, with blasts of energy being fired in all directions from the surrounding horde and the elemental attacks the mutated Toa were firing back. For only a moment, Nuju wished they were all just fighting one powerful opponent, and not hundreds of thousands. Fighting Makuta again seemed preferable.

He let out a roar, and he felt the coldness burst from him and freeze a few advancing Visorak. He panted hard for a second, trying to ready himself for another elemental blast. He ducked as another Visorak snapped at him with its mandibles, and he spun on his heel as he nearly ran headlong into another creature. He roared and roared again, but with each ice breath he felt himself grow a bit weaker. He settled with fighting them off with his spiked weapon hand.

Through the gnashing teeth and flailing legs, he could see Matau sprinting away from a group of Visorak, and beginning to climb up the webbing that was wrapped around the Coliseum’s main spire. Before he could wonder where Matau was going, he felt something hard strike the side of his head and he toppled over. Through vision blurred from the pain he saw a few dozen Visorak beginning to close in on him.

With a rush of primal rage, Nuju snarled at them, and pounced on top of one of them. The Visorak shrieked and reeled at the foreign entity on its back and bolted forward, snapping its mandibles. It struck a few of its allies through its blind panic, and Nuju clutched hard onto its outer shell. He rode the creature nearly across the stadium, and leapt off it the second before it collided hard with another Visorak. With reflexes he didn’t realize he had, Nuju grabbed onto some webbing above his head, and pulled himself up. Visorak gathered to snap at his heels, but he scrambled along the line, impressing himself with the agility of his mutated limbs.

Nuju ran back across the stadium on top of the strand of webbing, then leapt down next to Whenua, Onewa, and Nokama. The three continued their assault on the Visorak's massive numbers, and all the while Nuju attempted to calculate just how long they could hold out.

* * *

Matau scaled the Visorak webbing on the outside of the Coliseum with one goal in mind, get to Vakama. There was a sudden _crack_ that shook the structure that startled him. He took cover under some dense webbing and looking up, he could see the form of Keetongu scaling the main spire of the Coliseum, looking to fight the leaders of the Visorak horde.

The rahi was nearly halfway to the top, and with his heightened vision, Matau could see two tall figures standing up there, looking down at the advancing creature. He guessed it was Roodaka and Sidorak, the Viceroy and King respectively as told by Norik.

He saw the one he guessed was Sidorak charge up a spiked weapon and fire a beam of red energy down at Keetongu. The Visorak King missed by a few feet, and the rahi continued his climb. Sidorak charged up another shot, and missed again. On his third attempt, Keetongu dodged it at the last second by grabbing onto some webbing and swinging away to another wall. He continued his climb.

Then Matau saw the one that had to be Roodaka swiftly fire purple energy from one of her hands, and it struck Keetongu head on. The rahi fell, far too long, and his massive body crashed down to the stadium floor, briefly activating the large pillars that the false Dume had used to torment the new Toa Metru, all that time ago. The pillars undulated, forming ripples like the surface of a disturbed pond, and settled back down into the floor. Keetongu lay still.

Matau stared at the large rahi, hoping against hope that he wasn’t dead.

Just as he was about to continue his climb, he saw Sidorak and Roodaka appear beside the fallen rahi. Even at a distance Matau saw Keetongu's large chest rise and fall and his one large eye slowly open once again.

Sidorak turned to Roodaka, smiling. “The final blow is yours, Roodaka,” he offered with excessive grace. Roodaka narrowed her eyes at him, and swiftly spun on her heel and drifted away like a being made of smoke.

“Where are you going? Finish him!” Sidorak said, the fear growing in his voice.

“You do it,” Roodaka hissed, a glint in her eye. Behind the Visorak King, Keetongu was slowly beginning to rise to his feet, his blue eye glowing with rage. Sidorak’s green eyes filled with fear.

“But…but I can’t!” he cried. Keetongu was at his full height now, leering down at Sidorak, whom he dwarfed considerably.

“I know,” Roodaka sneered, giving Sidorak one last smile before vanishing back into the Coliseum.

“…Roodaka?” Sidorak croaked. Suddenly noticing the shadow over him, Sidorak slowly looked behind him, and his very being shrank at the sight of Keetongu looming over him. The rahi raised his massive fists.

“ _No, no, no, please!_ ” Sidorak begged, but Keetongu’s fists came down upon the Visorak King with a sickening _crack_. His broken bloodied body lay in a small crater in the floor, the last remnant of fear fading from his dead green eyes.

Matau finally looked away, feeling utterly revolted at the sight. He began scrambling up the vines once again, focusing on finding Vakama. He heard some scraping footsteps below him, and he looked down to see a small balcony upon which the hunched form of Vakama became visible. He stopped climbing abruptly.

Matau clung to the webbing on the side of the spire, looking down to the perch where Vakama was sitting. He hoped the Toa of Fire hadn’t noticed him. He quietly clasped onto a thick strand of webbing, and launched himself away from the wall. He swung down, and with a swift motion he grabbed Vakama around the waist and carried him along.

“Put me down!” the Toa of Fire snarled.

“You got it!” Matau said, throwing him down. He let go of the webbing as well, and the two landed on another ledge together. Vakama wheeled on him, baring his sharp teeth. Matau met his gaze, peering into his former companion’s enraged yellow eyes.

“Your place is with us! We’re here to rescue the matoran!” Matau said. Vakama growled at him, then promptly began to climb up the spire. Matau scrambled after him.

He chased Vakama up the wall for about a minute before the Toa of Fire peered back down at him and released a blast of fire from his mouth. Matau lost his grip on the webbing and fell a few feet. He caught himself again, and began pulling himself after the Toa of Fire.

“Vakama!” he called, but his former companion ignored him and continued to climb. Soon Vakama pulled himself up onto another balcony and vanished from view. Matau leapt after him, pulling himself up over the ledge.

He stood in a large empty chamber, facing Vakama. The Toa of Fire began to circle him, the way a beast would circle its prey. His yellow eyes were full of savagery.

“What has happened to you?” Matau said. Vakama replied with a snarl. “You know, besides the obvious,” Matau added. Vakama then launched himself at Matau, almost too fast for him to react.

Their weapons clashed, throwing sparks in all directions. The clanging of metal on metal echoed through the chamber. Matau landed a blow, then Vakama landed a blow, and the two locked weapons again. Matau barked a blast of wind at Vakama, who tumbled backwards head over heels. He recovered quickly, and leapt swiftly at Matau, landing a blow to his midsection and sending him tumbling as well.

Vakama barked fire in his direction, and Matau dove and rolled to avoid being scorched. The two continued to spar, clashing weapons and hitting each other with elemental attacks. After a while, the two landed in a standoff. Matau and Vakama circled each other, and they both panted heavily.

“Come back to us, fire-spitter,” Matau said in between breaths, “We need you.”

“I don’t believe that,” Vakama snarled, summoning up a flame from his weapon.

“You know this isn’t right!” Matau urged, “We’re supposed to be a team!”

Vakama leapt at him, knocking him off his feet before he could react. Vakama attempted to pin Matau to the floor, but Matau kneed him in the torso and rolled out from under him. The two were back on their feet, circling again.

“Vakama, I know the last time we talked I may have said some…unfair things,” Matau said, sweat pouring down his forehead. Vakama only stared at him and snarled.

“You have to believe me,” Matau continued, “I was wrong, I realize that now.”

For a brief moment, the familiar light in Vakama’s yellow eyes returned. But he snarled again and he hunched down low like he was about to pounce. Matau did a flip over him as Vakama lunged at him again. Matau whirled and Vakama knocked him sideways with a swipe of his weapon hand. Matau felt a stinging sensation in his face, and felt warm blood slide down his cheek. But he ignored the pain, and swung his weapon hand. Vakama caught Matau’s wrist. When he swung his own weapon hand, Matau caught his wrist in return. The two stayed locked like this for a good few minutes, pushing against each other, their faces a mere hair’s width apart.

“Vakama, please! You don’t have to do this! You’re better than this!” Matau pleaded, blinking the sweat out of his eyes. With a hard push from Vakama, they were separated.

“I am stronger alone!” Vakama shouted, and roared. Matau leapt backwards to avoid the blast of fire that followed. Vakama’s body slammed into him in the next moment, and Matau tumbled across the floor and felt himself fall over the edge of the balcony. He felt his heart stop as he instinctively grabbed at some webbing and dangled, far too high above the stadium.

Matau pulled himself up, hanging onto the ledge with one hand. Vakama appeared above him, his yellow eyes peering down at him. Matau opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Vakama’s foot came down on his hand, and he let out a strangled cry of pain.

“You are weak, _brother_ ,” Vakama spat. Pain was shooting up Matau’s arm, but the pure adrenaline that pumped through him kept his fingers gripping the ledge.

“You’re right, Vakama,” he answered in between ragged breaths, “I am weak.”

“So, in the end you see the truth,” Vakama sneered.

“We all make mistakes, Vakama! It happens!” Matau pleaded, “Maybe you’ve made a few, but I have too!”

“I’ve heard enough out of you!” Vakama snarled, and ignited the flame on his weapon hand.

“Wait!”

“Not for long!” Vakama raised his weapon hand over his head.

“I’m sorry!” Matau cried. Vakama’s weapon paused in midair. “I’m sorry I doubted you! Our strength comes from our unity, and you’re our leader! You’re _my_ leader!”

Vakama lowered his arm, staring down into Matau’s pleading green eyes.

“We have a job to do…a destiny!” Matau gasped, his hand throbbing with pain. He held Vakama’s gaze steadily, feeling his resolve surge from within him, “We share a destiny, Vakama! It can’t be fulfilled if we’re split apart!”

Vakama’s yellow eyes softened, and widened with concern. Matau felt his grip slackening, and he panted with pain and exhaustion.

“Matau!” Vakama said, “Don’t…!”

But Matau was already falling. As he watched the distant ground look closer and closer he found himself accepting his own helplessness. Just before he could make peace with his impending doom, he heard a voice reach him from above.

_“Matau! I’m coming!"_

Matau managed to crane his neck to look above him, and saw the red blur of Vakama clutching a strand of Visorak webbing, falling after him.

Matau whooped with joy. “ _Vakama!_ ” he shouted happily. The Toa of Fire straightened his body, gaining speed. Soon he was beside his fellow Toa, and he wrapped an arm around his waist.

“Hang on,” Vakama said to him, “I’ve got a plan.”

The two fell for another minute before the stadium floor was dangerously close. Before their bodies hit the ground at terminal velocity, however, their fall slowed thanks to the Visorak web strand. It stretched, and slowed them to a stop, then snapped the two Toa back upwards like a bungee cord.

* * *

Nokama panted heavily. She sent another wave after the Visorak, sweeping them away. But with very few she swept away, several dozen scuttled up to take their place. She, Onewa, Nuju, and Whenua were standing in a tight circle facing outwards, swinging their weapons. Each of them dripped with sweat and blood, and each was nearly drained of elemental energy. She could hear the exhausted breaths of her companions. Soon they were completely surrounded by a tight grouping of Visorak, and all they could see was rows upon rows of teeth and glowing eyes.

“There’s…too many…of them,” Onewa gasped. Nokama’s limbs were screaming in protest, and even her adrenaline was fading. All she wanted to do was lay on the ground and rest, but she knew she and her fellow Toa were seconds away from being ripped to shreds.

Suddenly there was a loud Visorak screech, a bit lower pitch than the others. The Visorak that surrounded them halted their advance, and they parted, creating a pathway. Eerie silence fell over the stadium.

“I don’t like this,” Whenua said, echoing Nokama’s own thoughts.

From a door across the stadium came a large Kahgarak, and upon its back rode the tall, slender figure of whom Nokama guessed was the Viceroy herself. The large creature took her through the pathway while the other smaller Visorak looked on with respect.

Roodaka called for her mount to halt, and it crouched to the ground, allowing her to easily and gracefully slide off its back and land lightly on the stadium floor. She approached the Toa, her steps long and graceful. Her lithe body looked as though it were a snake swimming through water. Her blazing blue eyes switched between each one of the Toa, her diabolical smile widening by the second. She stopped a few feet in front of them.

“You have something I want,” she said, her voice silky and purring. She gently stroked the large gemstone around her neck. “Your elemental powers,” she said. She walked down the line of four Toa. “Earth, stone, ice, water,” she smiled, “fire already belongs to me.” Her smile disappeared. “Wait, one’s missing,” Roodaka said.

“That would be air!” the rough version of that familiar voice sent a wave of sadness over Nokama. She and the others turned to see Vakama leading Matau into the stadium. He gave the Toa of Air a rough shove. Matau slid across the floor and landed at Roodaka’s feet. “He’s all yours, my queen!” She smiled pleasantly.

“Thank you, Vakama,” Roodaka purred. Nokama felt pure loathing growing more powerful within her the longer she stared at the Viceroy of the Visorak. Matau stumbled to his feet and took his place in the line next to Nokama.

“Now, about those powers,” Roodaka said.

“You want them so bad? Take them!” Matau shouted, and let out a roar. The other Toa followed suit, and with each elemental blow, the gemstone around her neck changed color, from green to blue to white to brown and black. The blows didn’t even phase Roodaka. Red energy crackled around the Viceroy, and she let out a laugh.

“Fools,” she hissed, “Your powers are nothing if you are not united! And as Vakama stands with me…”

“Actually,” Vakama’s voice surprised both his fellow Toa and Roodaka, “I wanted to talk to you about that.” He began charging up a shot with his weapon hand, and aimed it directly at her.

Roodaka’s eyes narrowed, and her voice hardened, “You may defeat _me_ , but not all of them!” she gestured to the waiting horde of thousands of Visorak, “Strike me down, and they will destroy you and your friends! Think about it.”

“I have,” Vakama taunted, “And seeing as you convinced Sidorak to put me in charge of them…” His yellow eyes surveyed the surrounding legion of spiders. “Get out of here, all of you!” The Toa of Fire shouted, “You’re free, that’s an order! Go, you no longer serve us!”

Much to Nokama’s, and the rest of the Toa’s as well as Roodaka’s astonishment, the creatures all complied. Every single last one of them turned around, and began scuttling over each other and climbing up webs to exit the stadium. Even the large Kahgarak Roodaka had ridden upon started walking away. Roodaka’s blue eyes blazed with fury.

“Traitors!” she shouted after the creatures.

“You can’t betray someone you’re enslaved to,” Vakama snarled at her. Roodaka whirled in his direction, her gaze threatening to burn through him.

“And to think I thought you could be king,” she sneered.

Vakama stood to his full height, at least as much as he could in his animalistic form. “I lead only those that _choose_ to follow.” His weapon was nearly fully charged with a blazing bolt of fire. He took aim. Roodaka held her arms out to the sides, as if allowing him to take the shot.

“No, Vakama, don’t!” Nokama whirled to see Norik, followed closely by the newly freed Rahaga, sprinting towards them. But it was too late; Vakama’s firebolt hit Roodaka square in the chest. She fell onto her back, and the gemstone shattered into pieces. A shockwave rippled through the air, and suddenly Roodaka’s body was engulfed in swirling black shadows. The shadows dissipated and her body was gone.

The Toa stared at the spot Roodaka vanished from. Norik approached Vakama, his eyes wide with fear.

“Do you…have any idea what you just did?” the Rahaga cried. Vakama met his gaze, confusion in his eyes.

“That gemstone…” Norik gasped, “Was the seal to Makuta’s prison!”

All the Toa were silent. Nokama looked at the shocked expressions of her companions.

“So, we just…” Onewa started.

“…set him free,” Nuju finished.

More silence followed. Nokama watched Vakama’s face, but saw only steely determination.

“He doesn’t scare me anymore,” the Toa of Fire said. All pairs of eyes fell upon him. “We defeated him once, we could do it again.” Nokama saw Matau flash a grin. He scampered up to Vakama and gave him a friendly pat on the back. Vakama smiled at him, the warmth Nokama had greatly missed returning to his yellow eyes.

The ground shook slightly, and the Toa and Rahaga looked up to see Keetongu slowly lumbering towards them. The rahi’s legs buckled underneath him, and The Toa rushed forward to catch him. They supported his weight, and helped him to stand to his full height once again.

“In light of all you’ve given,” Vakama said to him, “You owe us nothing.” The rahi fixed his piercing gaze on the Toa of Fire, and Nokama wondered what the rahi was thinking. The Toa gathered around the great creature. Nokama saw the Rahaga approach as well, and each was filled with awe; Iruni in particular was utterly slack-jawed at the sight.

Vakama continued to speak to Keetongu, with a great amount of respect. “But my duty requires that I ask you, will you change us back?”

The rahi seemed to give a slight smile, at least Nokama thought it was a smile. Keetongu muttered in his strange language, and Norik stepped forward to interpret.

“He wants to know why you’d want that, seeing as you’ve made peace with the beast within?”

“It’s our duty to be Toa, and to keep our promise to the matoran,” Vakama said.

“Du—ty,” Keetongu said, nodding his head ever so slightly.

Norik smiled, and stepped back. “Then so will you be,” he said. The six mutated Toa approached the great rahi, whose glowing blue eye surveyed the lot of them. Keetongu held his arms out, and Nokama could feel waves of heat coming off his body. The heat increased, and Keetongu began to glow brightly, blinding them all.

Nokama felt herself being enveloped in the light, and felt a burning sensation through her whole being as she felt her limbs being rearranged and snapped back into place. When it was all over, there she stood, along with her five fellow Toa, all back to normal. They all stood tall once again, their armor repaired and the beastly characteristics erased from their faces and bodies.

Matau looked down at himself and cheered. Before Nokama could react, he pulled her into a tight hug, which she returned. With a surge of happiness, Nokama went around to each of her fellow Toa, embracing them. Finally she came to Vakama, whose yellow eyes held the familiar warmth that she had missed greatly. She threw her arms around him, and felt his arms around her as well. When they separated, she found herself laughing, and the others joined in, as well as Keetongu and the Rahaga.

When they were all finished celebrating, Vakama called for the others’ attention.

“Now then, we’ve got a job to do, right?” he said, a joyful smile on his face.

“Yeah!” Onewa said, giving him a slap on the back, “The fire-spitter’s right, we’ve got matoran to transport!”

The Toa were led by the Rahaga down into the maintenance tunnels below the Coliseum, past the chambers that held the matoran capsules, and into a series of larger caverns that held the large aircrafts the Rahaga had built. The floor was littered with tools and blueprints. The Toa gasped and stared in awe at the vehicles.

“I hope these are suitable for the task,” Norik gestured towards them.

“Seriously,” Onewa said, looking down at him, “What _are_ you guys?”

“Just a bunch of freaks, here to help!” Norik said pleasantly.


	27. Next Stop, Mata Nui

It took many days and nights, but Vakama, his fellow Toa, the Rahaga, and Keetongu all set up an elaborate system of conveyor belts leading from the underground chambers beneath the Coliseum up to the airships that waited on the landing platforms in Le-Metru. As Nuju, Whenua, Onewa, Pouks, Kualus, and Bomonga loaded up matoran canisters onto the conveyor belts, Nokama, Matau, Gaaki and Keetongu loaded them onto the airships. Vakama, Norik, and Iruni oversaw everything and gave instructions, and kept track of how many matoran were accounted for.

Vakama watched his teammates work, and beamed with pride. For all the stuff he’d put them through, they still came for him when he abandoned them. He didn’t feel like he really deserved it, but his friends’ loyalty meant the world to him. He resolved from here on out to be the best leader and teammate they could ask for.

Nokama approached him suddenly, and she asked to speak with him alone. Once out of earshot of Norik and Iruni, Nokama smiled and pulled something out of her pocket. Vakama gasped.

“Where did you get that?” he asked, reaching out for it. Nokama placed it gently in his palm.

“I found it when I was with Gaaki,” she said, “Good thing, too. It might come in handy in the future.”

Vakama grasped the Vahi tight, and tucked it into his own pocket.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Don’t mention it,” Nokama grinned at him. Vakama felt an intense rush of emotion.

“I mean, thank you,” he said, “for everything.” Nokama beamed, and pulled him into another hug.

“Your welcome, Vakama,” she said. They separated. “I always knew you’d come back to us.”

“Hey, it wasn’t all me,” Vakama said, glancing towards the conveyor belts, where Matau was sitting on top of a matoran canister. The Toa of Air stood atop it, and began hopping from one canister to the next. Nokama giggled in response. With one last smile directed at Vakama, she jogged back to the airship where she began loading canisters again.

Vakama rejoined Norik and Iruni. Iruni looked over his notes, and looked up.

“Seems we’re almost finished unloading,” he reported, then his gaze went past Vakama, “Matau, quit fooling around!” he jogged towards the Toa of Air, who was still jumping on top of the canisters. Norik chuckled and turned to Vakama.

“Once a Le-Matoran, always a Le-Matoran,” the Rahaga chuckled. Vakama laughed in agreement. Then he grew serious. He looked into the eyes of the strange being, the one who the Toa would have been long dead without. Norik dug into his bag and retrieved the Stone of Light. He placed it in Vakama’s hand.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Vakama said, feeling a twinge of guilt, “And that I’m sorry for my past behavior.”

“Oh, don’t beat yourself up over it,” Norik said, smiling kindly, “Hordika venom is a force to be reckoned with,” he looked out to the horizon, in the direction of the new island Vakama and the others had discovered, “And I can see now what you really are.”

Vakama looked at him questioningly. Norik met his gaze with a warm smile.

“You’re a good leader, Vakama, and a good Toa. Lhikan would have been proud.”

Vakama felt another rush of intense emotion, threatening to stop his breath entirely. He looked out to the horizon. The sun was rising, and the clouds above were breaking and letting golden light spill forth over the sparkling sea beyond Ga-Metru. Even the looming darkness of Makuta couldn’t dampen his mood in this moment.

“Thank you, Norik,” he said finally, and met his gaze once again, “I honestly can’t thank you enough.”

“That’s alright, Vakama,” Norik said, patting his shoulder, “We just did what had to be done. We were once Toa, too, after all. The drive to help others never truly fades.”

The two stood side by side and watched as the last matoran canister was loaded, and Keetongu started helping the Rahaga close up the ships and remove the conveyor belts. Suddenly, Bomonga rushed up to Norik, out of breath.

“What is it, my friend?” Norik asked. Bomgona breathed hard, and swallowed audibly.

“We—we found Dume!” he exclaimed. Vakama and Norik exchanged a look. Up ahead, Vakama could see the elder emerging from a Le-Matoran building, being led by Gaaki. The elder looked bleary and confused, and had to rely on the Rahaga for support. The elder looked up, and his eyes met Vakama’s.

“Vakama?” Dume said, his voice groggy from sleep. Vakama stepped forward, hardly knowing what to say.

“Yes, it’s me,” he said, “How did you—I mean, you were put in stasis!”

“The memories are rather foggy,” Dume said, “What…happened?”

Vakama looked at Norik, then Gaaki. He met Dume’s gaze once again. “That’s…kind of a long story, Turaga.”

Dume surveyed his surroundings, looking confused at the ruined state of the buildings above them. “What happened to my city?” he asked.

“I can tell you everything, Turaga,” Norik said respectfully, “But for now Vakama and the Toa Metru need to get the matoran out of here.”

“Toa…Metru? Matoran…?” Dume seemed to lose his balance for a moment, and Gaaki caught him.

“Slow down, there, old man,” she said, “You need to take it easy for a while.”

“Vakama,” Onewa’s voice sounded behind Vakama. He turned to face the Toa of Stone. “We’re just about ready to—,” Onewa’s brown eyes fell upon Turaga Dume.

“Oh, is that Onewa?” the Turaga said, “you’re a Toa too…?”

Onewa shot Vakama a confused look. Vakama smiled. Soon he was aware that the other Toa Metru and Rahaga had joined them. Matau skipped up to Vakama, slapping him on the back and grinning ear to ear.

“We’re ready when you are, fire-spitter!” he said. Vakama smiled at him, then glanced back down at Norik.

“We’ll take care of Dume and the city while you’re gone,” the Rahaga reassured, “You guys should go take those matoran somewhere safe.”

“We will return when we can,” Vakama said, “We promise.” The other Toa voiced their agreements. After saying their goodbyes, the Toa all boarded the lead airship, which was tethered to several others, all loaded to their roofs with matoran canisters. Matau sat in the driver’s seat, grasping the handlebars with a glint of excitement in his eyes.

“Hey Matau,” Onewa called up to him, “try not to crash it this time!”

Instead of getting annoyed, Matau laughed. He pulled on the handles, and the ship hummed and rose into the air. Vakama stood on the balcony with the others, waving down to the Rahaga, Dume, and the great Keetongu, who gave a low bow to them. Vakama’s soul was filled to the brim with such intense emotion that he could hardly speak.

A flock of birds flew by, and Nuju called out to them, in a strange series of clicks and whistles. Onewa looked at him quizzically.

“What’s with you?” he asked. Nuju responded with a series of whistles and elaborate hand gestures. Onewa stared at him, dumbfounded.

“He’s been talking like that since the battle at the Coliseum,” Whenua answered, “Something about the ‘proper’ way of speaking.”

Onewa snorted, “And what the _hell_ does that mean?” Whenua only laughed and shrugged. Vakama smiled to himself, and gazed downward at the rocky islands they were passing over, where they had fought Makuta. His heart froze for a second when he saw the reflections of the broken fragments of the now shattered crystal cage the Master of Darkness had been trapped in.

“So, he _is_ gone,” Nokama whispered.

“Not for long,” Vakama said gravely, “I imagine we’ll be seeing him again.”

“Then what’ll we do?” Whenua asked.

“We’ll find a way to defeat him. Together,” Vakama smiled at the lot of them. They all returned the smile, each one of their eyes full of pride.

* * * 

To the relief of them all, the journey was painless and short. The series of airships reached the new island with no resistance from the weather or anything of the sort. As soon as Matau landed the ships carefully on the ground, the Toa climbed out to begin unloading the matoran capsules. As Matau shut the engines off, he glimpsed the back of Nokama’s head, and rushed to catch her arm. She turned, fixing her blue eyes on him. He felt a rush of warmth.

“Hold on a sec, Nokama,” he said, Nokama continued to stare at him as he let go of her arm, and fiddled with what words to say in his mind.

“I—,” Matau faltered for a second, and studied Nokama’s patient expression. She waited for him to speak again. Matau swallowed. “I just wanted to say, that ever since that day…the day we all turned into Toa…” Nokama placed her fingertips gently over his mouth.

“Matau,” she said kindly, “I know what you’re going to say.” Matau could feel his heart pounding as he waited for her to continue. “And I am flattered, I really am,” Nokama paused again, “but I’m sorry. I can’t give you what you want. I just don’t see you in that way.”

Matau felt foolish. But he forced a smile and nodded.

“You understand, don’t you?” Nokama said, holding her gaze on him even when Matau glanced away. He took a deep breath, and stared deep into her ocean blue eyes.

“Yeah, I get it, it’s…it’s fine,” he said. He felt his gaze wander again, and suddenly Nokama pulled him into a tight hug. His heart throbbed harder, and he hoped she couldn’t hear it.

“You’ll always be my brother Toa, Matau,” she said close to his ear, “We’ll always be friends, don’t ever forget that.”

“Yeah,” he responded. Nokama pulled gently away from him, clasping his hands for a moment. Matau was so warm he almost felt like he could break out in a sweat.

“Let’s go help the others,” she said, beaming. Matau found a genuine smile spread across his face, and he exited the airship after her.

The six of them got done unloading all the thousands of matoran, and sat for a moment to rest. Whenua knelt next to a canister and opened its sliding door. The Le-Matoran inside was still asleep, his small chest slowly rising and falling. Whenua looked up at the others.

“How will we wake them up?”

They all turned towards Vakama, who stood tall and confident. Though, there was a troubled look on his face.

“We may…have to sacrifice our Toa power,” he said. The others stood silent for a while. Nuju broke the silence with a series of clicks of his tongue. Onewa snickered.

“Sure, what he said,” he said sarcastically.

“He agrees with Vakama,” Nokama said, no doubt utilizing her kanohi, “and so do I.”

The other Toa nodded their agreement.

“Lhikan sacrificed his power for us,” Whenua added, looking back down at the piles of matoran spheres, “Now we should do the same for them.”

Vakama went first, placing his hand on a canister. His hand glowed with red energy, and it spread and surrounded the canister. The door slid open, and the matoran inside began to stir and open his eyes. Before Matau and the others, Vakama’s body shrank. His hands shriveled and his hair turned from red to grey to white in a matter of seconds. He was now clothed in Turaga's robes and held a staff that ended in a carved stone shaped like leaping flames.

“Vakama?” Nokama gasped, but she could see the steely determination in his yellow eyes did not fade, and the red glow spread from canister to canister, waking matoran left and right. The others split up, doing the same as Vakama. One by one, the Toa Metru poured their Toa power into the capsules and awakened the matoran in droves. And each Toa Metru shrank and aged, their faces becoming wrinkled and their hair greying and whitening.

When they were finished, the whole population of Metru Nui stood before them, blinking and confused. The matoran all looked up to the six new Turaga that stood before them, each pair of eyes full of questions. Vakama gave them all a wrinkled smile and stepped forward.

“May the heart of Metru Nui live forever,” he announced in his new aged voice, spreading his arms wide, “For this is the island of Mata Nui, named in honor of the Great Spirit.”

Each matoran’s expression brightened slightly, and they all cheered. Vakama turned to his teammates, each one aged and shrunken like him, but each still had the light of hope and pride in their eyes. He surveyed the matoran for a second time. It may take a while for them to fully recover both mentally and physically from their induced comas, but Vakama was sure once they began building their new villages everything will continue forwards as it should.

In the following months, the new Turaga oversaw the building of each new village. They chose to give each village the name “koro,” instead of “metru.” The matoran toiled hard, with the Turaga’s guidance. Vakama told each Turaga to retrieve the Toa stones each of them had made and keep them on their person when the time was right to summon a new team of Toa to defend them all.

At one point, Vakama called upon Nokama to help him hide the Stone of Light. They ventured into the winding network of tunnels behind the new Ta-Koro, where Nokama marked the walls with phrases of an ancient matoran language she’d studied as a matoran. They traversed a river of lava thanks to a pathway of stepping stones, and using Vakama’s old matoran tool they carved out a stone from the wall and placed the Stone of Light in an opening inside it. Nokama marked the outside with the phrase “light to conquer darkness” on the front.

“When do you think we’ll need this?” Nokama asked, stepping back to admire their work.

“I had a vision before we came here,” he said, “It told me that one day a brave and exceptional matoran will find it, and he will be the one to awaken the Toa of Light.”

“Looks like we have a long, crazy future ahead of us,” Nokama mused, and Vakama laughed softly.

“Indeed, my friend,” he said, and the two went back the way they came.

It didn’t take too much longer for everything on Mata Nui to settle into place. Nuju had appointed a quiet but intelligent Ko-Matoran named Matoro as his personal translator. Vakama gave the job of Chronicler to an adventurous matoran named Takua. The Great Kini Nui temple was built in the location Nokama had discovered long ago.

The six villages enjoyed about a year of peace before the rahi attacks began. As soon as it started, Vakama knew that Makuta had returned, and that a new era for them had just begun. Despite the worry, Vakama also held a great deal of hope in his mind. With the matoran in he and the others’ care, and with new Toa arriving from over the horizon, he knew that Makuta’s shadows would never prevail.


	28. Epilogue

At last, his story was finished. Turaga Vakama sat down on a rock, exhausted. Takanuva looked upon him with awe, finally seeing all of the old man’s history making up the very fabric of the Turaga’s being. He surveyed the other Turaga, and he could see that history in their eyes as well. Each weathered, tired face held so much wisdom and knowledge. Takanuva glanced at Hahli, who finished the last of her notes, dropping her pencil and massaging her writing hand with the other. He smiled to himself.

The other Toa were in just as much awe as he was. Tahu was the first to speak up.

“So, what you’re saying is, we’re returning to Metru Nui?” the Toa of Fire asked, his orange eyes shining with questions.

“Yes,” Turaga Onewa said, stepping forward, “That is our next step to awakening the Great Spirit, and snuffing out Makuta for good.”

“What I want to know is about all that Brotherhood of Makuta stuff,” Lewa piped up, “And the Dark Hunters, what’s their deal? How about Lhikan and Nidhiki? And the whole thing about you not being the destined Toa?”

“Patience, Toa,” Onewa chuckled, “We still have plenty of time to tell you all more about the world. We did eventually find out that the ones who were ‘destined’ were actually a ruse to fool Makuta.”

Nuju clicked and whistled. Matoro spoke, “The Turaga says that someone had written a lie in the stars to protect the true destined heroes.”

The eyes of Lewa and the other Toa seemed to fill with more questions. Takanuva’s mind reeled. There was still so much more to learn about the world and the destinies of those who inhabited it.

“Enough talk of the past. For now we need to look towards the future. Big things are about to happen in the coming months,” Vakama spoke up again, sitting up taller, “We promise in that time we’ll give you all that we know to aid you.”

“But what’s going to happen?” Pohatu asked worriedly, “What’s in store for us?”

“At this point, we can only guess,” Turaga Nokama answered, “But we won’t have long to find out.”

Tahu stood up, looking down at the Turaga. For a moment, Takanuva was unsure of what the Toa of Fire was going to say. But Tahu’s eyes held a new respect for the elders. He gave a small bow of the head to them all.

“I understand now why you kept this all from us. I don’t agree with it, per say, but I can see why you did it,” he said solemnly, “And I am honored that you now feel you can entrust us with the secrets of your past.”

“You Toa have earned it twenty times over,” Vakama said proudly, rising slowly to his feet, “And now it is about time the other matoran knew as well.”

Takanuva, Hahli, and the Toa and Turaga rejoined the matoran population, and their migration began once again. Takanuva glanced towards the horizon, where the sun was beginning to rise once again. The red star in the sky blazed furiously, and he stared into it, wondering with fevered anticipation about what the future held.

New legends awake, but old lessons must be remembered. For that is the way of the Bionicle.


End file.
